Luo Kaimin, director of Dujiangyan's organization department, introduces the preparation work for the water-releasing festival to be held in Dujiangyan, Chengdu, Sichuan province, on April 4.

The 2013 China Dujiangyan Qingming Water-Releasing Festival will kick off on April 4 in Dujiangyan, Chengdu, Sichuan province.

This year's water-releasing festival, together with the first Source of Tianfu Water Culture Tourism Festival, will last until the end of the year, according to Luo Kaimin, director of Dujiangyan's organization department, at a news conference on March 28.

The water-releasing ceremony, as the most important part of the festival, will be held during Qingming Festival on April 4. Apart from the water-releasing ceremony, the organizer will host a series of tourism activities, including a calligraphy and painting exhibition, tea-leaf picking activities and bike rides, according to Luo.

The water-releasing festival is a ceremony dating back 1,000 years that honors Li Bing, the Qin Dynasty (221 - 206 BC) provincial governor who built the Dujiangyan irrigation system in 256 BC.

The Dujiangyan irrigation system turned the frequently flooded Chengdu Plain into a “l(fā)and of abundance”. The system irrigates nearly 70,000 hectares of farmland, contributing to almost one-third of the province's total grain output.

The water-releasing festival was listed among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects in 2006. The local government is applying to include the festival on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.