Photographers and journalists from 12 Asian media organizations gathered in Yantai on Sunday to start a four-day interview tour of the coastal city.

The tour, sponsored by China Daily, the Yantai municipal government's publicity department and Yantai commerce bureau, aims to enhance Yantai's popularity on the world stage by presenting the city's cultural, environmental, tourism and marine economy.

The photographers and journalists had just concluded a six-day tour of Guizhou province.

They got a good look at the province's efforts and achievements in cultural conservation.

Yantai was one of the first of 14 cities designated by China as part of the country's reform and opening-up process in 1984, Mayor Meng Fanli said at the tour's launching ceremony.

"Yantai is accelerating its opening-up process," Meng said. "We are dedicated to building a transparent, comfortable and convenient environment for investors around the world."

Yantai's GDP last year was 561 billion yuan ($89.7 billion), second among Shandong's 17 cities.

In Guizhou, the photographers last visited a private cultural museum of the Miao, one of the province's major ethnic groups.

Insel Iskra Noriega, a journalist from a Philippine TV station, said that she was impressed by the province's thriving ethnic cultures.

"It is amazing that both tangible and intangible cultures are well-preserved after so many years," she said.

Contact the writers through [email protected].