The final round of an original song contest promoting Shandong's unique culture and tourism resources was held on Aug 24 in Linyi, East China's Shandong province.

After preliminary evaluation, online voting and scoring on-site by the judges, the competition selected one first prize, three second prize and five third prize works.

Themed on natural landscapes, local conditions and customs, the contest was designed to integrate Shandong's traditional culture and tourism resources with modern pop music.

Organizers said that the aim was to launch high-quality cultural tourism products, create top tourism performance projects, as well as enhance the brand value and influence of "Cultural Shandong" and "Friendly Shandong".

The contest was launched in May. After more than a month of activity both online and offline, by the end of June, nearly 300 songs were collected.

Entries include a variety of music styles including pop, folk, rock and roll and older styles, with themes ranging from Shandong's history and culture, to natural scenery, folk traditions and city life.

Online voting started in August for all entries. More than 90,000 votes were cast online within the allotted time.

The contest gathered music artists and fans from the province as well as from other 20 provinces and cities – including Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Beijing and Gansu – with the participation of music professionals from major music universities and musician associations.

Supported by the Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism, the event was jointly organized by the Linyi municipal bureau of tourism and culture, the Mount Meng tourism resort management committee and Shandong Culture Media Co.

The final round of an original song contest, promoting Shandong's unique culture and tourism resources, takes place. It was held on Aug 24 in Linyi, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/WeChat account: sdswltwx]

Zhang Guilin, deputy director of the Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism, delivers a speech at the event. [Photo/WeChat account: sdswltwx]