Beaming Chinese and Japanese tourists proudly show off their calligraphy works at an exchange meeting of the experience tour in Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province on Aug 17. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

A Japanese experience tour of Hangzhou's cultural and tourism resources opened in Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province on Aug 17, local media reported. 

Organized by the Hangzhou Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, the event lasts until October. Local officials said it is Hangzhou's latest effort to crack the lucrative Japanese tourist market, improve the international profile of Hangzhou's tourism industry and attract more Japanese visitors.

A series of activities -- leveraging overseas social media, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube -- will be held to explore charming Hangzhou in the eyes of Japanese tourists.

To provide visitors with a rich experience of Hangzhou's cultural and tourism resources, organizers will invite visitors to the three world heritage sites inscribed on the UNESCO list.

They will also offer visitors a hands-on experience of traditional cultures, including the tea culture, seal cutting art, silk culture, Buddhist culture, calligraphy and the Hangzhou local cuisine.

An important part of the event, a carnival to promote Hangzhou's cultural and tourism industries, will be staged in Tokyo in September.

Japan has always been an important source market for inbound tourism in Hangzhou, officials said.