The 37th Daze Mountain Grape Festival kicks off in Pingdu city on Sept 9. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The 37th Daze Mountain Grape Festival, which kicked off on Sept 9 in the county-level city of Pingdu, administered by Qingdao city, in East China's Shandong province, will run until late October and aim to boost rural vitalization and the development of the grape industry and cultural tourism.

During the opening ceremony, a number of viticulture experts were given awards, the Sino-Italian New Grape Variety Exchange Alliance was launched and Dazeshan town signed a cooperation venture for rural smart logistics.

All these efforts are expected to help the grapes produced in Daze Mountain further expand into markets across the country and even into overseas markets.

Visitors eagerly check out products set out on the colorful stands. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The stands set up at the opening ceremony, featuring the achievements of rural revitalization, handicrafts and other intangible cultural heritage, also attracted large numbers of visitors. They were able to sample boutique grape wine while enjoying local culture.

During the ongoing festival, a series of activities, such as a marathon, agricultural product fairs and photography contests, will be held to stoke up the excitement and fun.

Daze Mountain is a notable grape-producing area in China, with the high-quality grapes produced there named "Chinese famous fruit" and labeled as protected products with a national geographical indication.

At present, Dazeshan town has a grape-planting area of about 35,000 mu (2,333 hectares), with over 300 grape varieties, an annual output of more than 50,000 metric tons of grapes and an annual grape output value of 700 million yuan ($96 million).

Daze Mountain is a notable grape-producing area in China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Over the years, nearly 1,000 varieties have taken root in Daze Mountain and more than 500 million grape seedlings have gone to 32 different places across the country, driving the development of over 1 million mu of grape-producing bases.

Looking ahead, plans are for it to continue to boost the development of the grape industry, with a focus on smart planting to unleash more potential and generate more profits.