A hot air balloon is about to take to the air at the Pitaya Cultural Tourism Festival. [Photo/epaper.xmnn.cn]

The first Pitaya Cultural Tourism Festival opened in Dazhai village, Xiang'an district, Xiamen on Aug 3. 

Themed around pitaya culture and rural tourism, the festival aims to showcase the achievements made in rural revitalization in Dazhai village and encourage more young people to aid in the efforts.

Visitors can enjoy a wide range of activities, including running through fields of bliss, riding in hot air balloons, partaking in a pitaya DIY activity, and watching several cosplay performances. 

Fuzhou University inked a cooperation agreement with Xindian village on rural revitalization, while Dazhai village reached an agreement with the Xiang'an branch of Agricultural Bank of China, which will provide financial assistance to the village. 

Wang Da, head of Xindian village, said that the contracts will provide intelligent support for pitaya research and development in Dazhai village and inject vitality into local rural tourism.

In 2000, Dazhai village introduced the first pitaya seed from Taiwan. After 19 years of research and exploration, Dazhai has become the largest pitaya planting base in Xiamen.