A culture festival and artworks show held this week brought more recognition and fame to the Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture in Guizhou province.

Before the 6th China Kaili Original Folk Culture and Art Festival opened in Kaili, capital of the prefecture, on July 23, Qiandongnan was a place unknown even to many Chinese.

But this week, a large number of visitors including delegates and tourists from throughout the world were doing business or sightseeing in the area in southeast Guizhou.

"This event offers us a rare chance to learn about Qiandongnan prefecture - its unique culture and landscape," said Belgian tourist William Braeckmans.

Even experienced businesspeople had excitement similar to Braeckmans.

Standing in front of the Kenya pavilion at the artworks fair venue, tall and smiling Kenyan businessman Dickens Obura greeted visitors with nihao - or hello - while introducing the unique handicrafts from his home country.

"Nihao is one of the few Chinese words I can speak, but I am learning Chinese now. It is my first time to the country and I made Kaili my first place to visit because of the amazing fair here," Obura said.

"China is our good friend. This is a great fair as it provides us opportunities to introduce Kenyan artwork to China. Also, I find that the silver ornaments from the Miao and Dong people are unique. They inspire me a lot," he continued.

The 7,000-square-meter exhibition area for the fair has 136 booths with exquisite foreign and Chinese arts and craftsmanship on display.

Chula Samrawickrama from Sri Lanka had a booth to present batiks, ready-made garments and other handicrafts.

"I got to know this event at a fair in Kunming last year. It is a unique event highlighting folk arts, especially embroidery and silver ornaments. I will come back next year," Samrawickrama said.

She said the Miao and Dong embroidery "is amazing".

"I have the opportunity to talk with Miao and Dong embroidery masters and we exchange ideas.

"I have also learned more about other kinds of embroidery in China, such as those in Suzhou and Hangzhou."

A large-scale performance called Silver Show is another highlight of the event.

It features traditional Miao and Dong dances and songs with the 3D and other high-tech effects, telling the life and history of the two peoples.

"The performance is like a beautiful dream. The best part of this show is the love story of the Miao and Dong boys and girls. I felt tears in my eyes," said Lynn Vermeulen, another traveler from Belgium.

"Before coming here, I read a book about Guizhou and now I see the city of Kaili is one of the best parts of the province," she added.

Kaili is now on its way to becoming a tourist destination with growing domestic and international recognition, according to the city government.

Its projections say the number of visitors will reach 7.6 million in 2015, generating 10 billion yuan worth of revenue, including 160 million yuan from international tourists.

liyang2@chinadaily.com.cn