(04/19/2001)

PANZHIHUA, Sichuan Province: The Panzhihua International Yangtze Drifting Festival will be held on the Jinsha River, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River between May 1 and 8.

More than 30 teams from Beijing, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, the city of Guangzhou and from the United States will take part in the 70-kilometre competition.

The festival, sponsored by the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Administration, the Panzhihua municipal government and the Sichuan Television Station, is aimed at boosting tourism development in Panzhihua and arousing public concern for environmental protection in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, said Xiao Lijun, an official from the festival's organizing committee.

Located in the extreme south of Sichuan and next door to Yunnan Province, Panzhihua is China's largest titanium and vanadium-production centre. It sits at the juncture of the Jinsha and Yalong rivers, the latter being a tributary of the Yangtze.

The Panzhihua section of the Jinsha River is ideal for drifting. It has many shoals and rapids as well as pleasant beaches and plenty of sunshine. On both sides of the river reside numerous minority ethnic groups, including the Yi minority.