Beijing Watermelon Festival kicks off (1/5)

The king of watermelons in terms of weight in this year's National Watermelon Arena Contest was 43.18 kilograms. The 26th Daxing Watermelon Festival kicks off on May 28 in Panggezhuang Town in Beijing's Daxing District. The juicy festival, launched in 1988, is an annual event hosted by the district government. It allows visitors to taste, buy and pickle watermelons produced on the vast plantations of Daxing, a large watermelon producer in Beijing. Between May and July, a series of activities will take place in Daxing, including the 2014 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and an international new media forum. Rose-themed tourism activities will also be held in Daxing, which is gearing up for the 2016 World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) Regional Convention. [Photo/China.org.cn]