With the joyful horn of the "head boat" of seven decorated cruises on the Suzhou Creek, the third "Half Marathon Suzhou Creek" Cultural Tourism Festival officially kicked off on Sunday. 

The festival will last for one month, featuring more than 100 wonderful cultural and tourism activities. 

Seven Suzhou Creek decorated cruises made their first appearance and conducted a formation parade. 

As of August this year, Suzhou Creek cruises have operated more than 7,200 tours and received 90,000 visitors, with peak seating rates reaching 95 percent during holidays. 

Starting from today until September 24, citizens and tourists can book the decorated cruises to enjoy the scenery on both sides of Suzhou Creek. 

The results of the Shanghai Suzhou Creek public art work competition, jointly organized by the Putuo District People's Government and the Shanghai Bureau of Culture and Tourism, were also announced at the opening ceremony. 

The competition received a total of 3,206 works from China, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, Serbia, and other regions, and 33 winning works were selected, involved in categories of public art, photography and painting. 

Some outstanding public art works are expected to be displayed on the banks of the Suzhou Creek in the future.