The 33rd Qingdao International Beach Festival begins at the Qingdao No 1 Bathing Beach on Oct 13. [Photo/IC]

The 33rd Qingdao International Beach Festival began at the Qingdao No 1 Bathing Beach on Oct 13.

This year, organizers redesigned all the festival's activities to make it more characteristic with cultural, marine, Qingdao, and international elements.

As with previous beach festivals, the opening ceremony was the most anticipated highlight for this year's event, and included performances on beach volleyball, singing, dancing, and martial arts, as well as cultural exhibitions of sand sculptures, sand painting, pen drawings, and traditional Chinese paintings.

The performances of paddleboarding in Huiquan Bay, the sea tug-of-war invitational competition, and the beach judo open tournament also took place during the opening ceremony.

The annual event is characterized by cultural, marine, Qingdao, and international elements. [Photo/IC]