The winner of the largest watermelons by weight. [Photo by the Daxing government]

The opening ceremony of the annual Beijing Daxing Watermelon Festival opened in Daxing district of  Beijing on May 28.

This year marked the 31st festival held by the Daxing government. With the theme of "New Gateway, New Daxing", the event helps the district lift its image, promote industries and boost development.

At the opening ceremony, the winners of the largest watermelons by weight, the medium and small watermelons by comprehensive standards, and the muskmelons by comprehensive standards were awarded in the national watermelon and muskmelon challenge competition, which has been held for 31 years with hundreds of melon farmers from all over the country participating every year.

This year, an 80.06-kilogram Jingxin No 8 watermelon presented by Li Tiejun, a farmer in Daxing district, won the title of "King of Watermelons" for 2019 and set a new record for recent years.

The township of Panggezhuang in Daxing district has a reputation as the Home of Chinese Watermelon. With a planting area of around 1667 hectares, the town boasts an annual output of 90 million kg of watermelons and muskmelons, which combined generate sales revenue of 210 million yuan ($30.42 million). The watermelons planted in the township have been included in the Daxing geographical protection mark and safe agricultural products traceable mark lists.

The watermelon festival, an important local cultural tourism and branding activity, also provided art performances during the event. This year’s performances told the development story of Daxing district through dance, acrobatics and melodrama, based on the background of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Daxing will witness many big events this year, including the opening of the Beijing Daxing International Airport and in-depth optimization of its business environment as the district develops into a civilized urban area in China, said a planner of the festival’s opening ceremony. All of these events need the people of the district to work together.

Since April this year, Daxing has launched 10 activities, including a Latin American and Caribbean culture and art carnival, the 31st national watermelon challenge competition, the sixth creative watermelon food contest, and an international creative watermelon food competition.