A little girl takes a picture with a watermelon at the Daxing Watermelon Festival in Beijing on May 28. [Photo from Daxing District]

A worker from Daxing Center for Disease Control and Prevention receives watermelons as an expression of gratitude. [Photo from Daxing District]

The 32nd Daxing Watermelon Festival in Beijing, live streamed over four consecutive days from May 28 to 31, drew great attention online for its rich culture and tourism resources.

The national-level melon race had 43 winners from five groups showcasing the largest, sweetest and newest species of melons. Some high-quality melons were delivered to frontline workers who stuck into their posts and contributed to prevention of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic and resumption of production in the district.

Notably, this year’s event adopted a new form of full view live broadcasting which deepened interaction between people. The broadcast, in three parts and lasting for 13 hours, was conducted on May 28.

About a dozen hosts pointed out the district’s various landmarks -- such as Beijing Daxing International Airport, Yongxinghe Wetland Park, and Yiling, the biomedical base of Yiling Pharmaceutical Co, to share the local residents’ happy lives.

Another host from Radio Beijing helped to promote poverty-alleviation products. In addition, a quiz on garbage sorting and urban planning was interspersed over the whole show.

A series of culture and tourism promotion activities were held online in the following three days to publicize the must-see scenic spots and must-try tastes in the district.

Before the event, a ten-day long warm-up had started on May 18. Short video platforms including Kuaishou gave viewers virtual tours of Chinese rose theme parks and a mulberry orchard, on which they learned and enjoyed not only the blossoms but also mulberry-based snacks and a screened photographic exhibition.

The watermelon planting technology in Daxing has progressed with the times. The planting area of nearly 30,000 mu (20 sq km) has an output of 80 thousand tons. In recent years, more than 80 new varieties have been introduced and tested in the district.

According to an agreement between local government and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, the two sides will make full use of their resources and carry out cross talent training to enhance market competitiveness.