The 2021 Great Canal International Poetry Festival opened in Gongshu district, Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 29.
More than 20 poets and poetry lovers were invited to recite poems themed on the Great Canal.
In addition to focusing on the changes made on both sides of the Great Canal, the festival also showcased the leisurely life along the river by time-honored traditional Chinese medicine stores, coffee shops, Kunqu opera clubs, as well as leather stores through poems and music.
Launched in 2012, the Great Canal International Poetry Festival has become a cultural calling card of Hangzhou with expansive influence.
"To date, the event has invited more than 300 poets from China and abroad, including Bei Dao, Shuntaro Tanigawa, and Yu Guangzhong," said Shu Yu, founder of the festival, adding that their poems have brought the Great Canal culture in China to the world.