Performance at the grand ceremony in Huimin, Shandong province on Sept 12 in worship of Sun Tzu. Photos by Wang Qian / China Daily

The 10th Sun Tzu Cultural Tourism Festival is underway in Huimin, Shandong province, the hometown of the great military strategist in ancient China.

More than 1,000 descendants and scholars of Sun Tzu from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan participated in a grand ceremony on September 12 to worship Sun Tzu, the author of "The Art of War", often considered "the holy book of warfare."

"For more than 2,500 years, Sun Tzu's masterpiece 'The Art of War' has long been revered as a legacy of Chinese traditional culture. The book is applicable not only to military combat but also to politics, social navigations and businesses," Xie Taixi, from the Taiwan-based Society for Strategic Studies, said at the worship ceremony.

"Most of Sun Tzu's strategies are relevant to modern times. We should work harder to study them," Xie said.

The festival lasts until Oct 22. In addition to the worship ceremony, it also includes the fourth Cross-Straits Sun Tzu Culture Forum, the launching of the Sun Tzu Painting and Calligraphy Center, and the third Cross-Straits Student Debate Contest on "The Art of War."