Opening ceremony of the 2012 China Dujiangyan Dam Qingming Water Releasing Festival[Photo/China Daily Chengdu Bureau]

The opening ceremony of the 2012 China Dujiangyan Dam Qingming Water Releasing Festival was held in Dujiangyan Dam, which is a world cultural heritage site in Chengdu, Sichuan province on April 4.

Eighteen ambassadors and their wives from 33 countries were in attendance.

The Dujiangyan irrigation project, designed by an ancient Chinese engineer, Li Bing, was constructed in 256 BC. The project has protected Chengdu from floods and droughts ever since.

The festival is a Sichuan folk custom that originated a thousand years ago. It has been listed as a national intangible cultural heritage since 2006.

Every Qingming Festival or the Tomb Sweeping day, local residents hold a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the irrigation project and to commemorate Li Bing.

The festival was sponsored by the Chengdu Municipal Government, China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center, Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association, Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Culture Ministry and Cultural Department of Sichuan Province.

Special events would continue until May 12. Over 70,000 tourists at home and abroad are expected to attend, which could generate total revenues of 3.9 million yuan ($0.62 million) for the local economy.