Tourists try their hands at writing and painting with Huzhou writing brushes at a night market during the 12th Huzhou Writing Brush Culture Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: huzhoufabu]

The 12th Huzhou Writing Brush Culture Festival kicked off in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on Sept 20. A series of activities based around Huzhou's cultural richness and popular appeal have been unfolding, including calligraphy and painting exhibitions and dance performances.

Since its inception in 2001, Huzhou has been using the festival as a platform to blend the charm of its traditional culture with contemporary significance, continuously transforming its cultural wealth into a developmental edge.

This year's festive activities will showcase Huzhou's natural beauty, cultural heritage, aesthetic lifestyle, and status as a cultural gateway through an opening ceremony, five key events, and a number of other activities. It aims to present the unique cultural charm and modern urban spirit of Huzhou, known as the "Cultural City of East Asia", and consistently enhance its city slogan of "Beautiful China, Dynamic Huzhou".

In recent years, traditional Huzhou writing brushes have been transformed through collaborations with brands and are piquing the interest of younger generations, even being exported to countries like Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia.

According to data from the Huzhou Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, the city currently holds a 30-percent market share in the nation's writing brush market and a dominant share of around 60 percent in the high-end brush market.

There are over 400 business entities involved in the brush market in Shanlian township, employing nearly 3,000 people and producing 14 million brushes annually with a sales revenue of nearly 800 million yuan ($112 million), making it a unique and thriving specialty industry in the region.