S. Sumatra's Palembang to hold Indonesian Spring Festival

Palembang, capital of Indonesia's South Sumatra province, is scheduled to hold Indonesian Spring Festival on Saturday to celebrate Chinese and Indonesian culture.

The two-day event would be featured by Chinese and local dances, lantern display, fireworks and laser beam attractions, cultural and dragon parades, cooking and calligraphy demonstrations, screening of documentary films and photo exhibitions.

Different from the ones held in two previous years that highlighted bazaar during the event, the upcoming spring festival would feature mixture of Indonesian and Chinese cultures, Deputy Tourism Minister for Domestic Tour Marketing Esthy Reko Astuti said.

"This event is expected to light up Chinese culture which is part of Indonesia's myriad of ethnic cultures and promote harmonious life among people living in this multicultural nation," Esthy said in a statement released on Friday, expecting that it would attract some 25,000 people.

The Tourism Ministry co-organized event would also highlight Admiral Zheng He, commander of Chinese ancient kingdom's fleet voyaged to several areas across Indonesia, including Palembang, who made close interaction with royals of Indonesian ancient kingdoms centuries ago.

Indonesian Tourism Minister Arief Yahya said that Admiral Zheng had a strong bond with Indonesian history. His traces can still be found today in Indonesia's coastal cities, he added.

Besides promoting mixed cultures in the city, the event is also expected to further promote Palembang as a tour destination as the area provides diverse kind of tours comprised of religious and historical, culinary, cultural, urban and rural attractions.

Palembang welcomed 64,257 foreign visitors last year, or 15.93 percent higher than a year earlier. The city is scheduled to co-host the Asian Games in 2018. Endit