ULAN BATOR, June 8 (Xinhua) -- More than 800 motorcyclists, including 200 from China and Russia, featured in an international motorsports festival entitled "Steppe Wind" here on Saturday.
The fifth festival, which kicked off from the Central Square and continued along the streets of the Mongolian capital, is co-organized by the governor's office of Ulan Bator, the city's tourism department and "Mongolian choppers brotherhood" group.
After the opening ceremony, the participants headed towards Genghis Khan Statute complex which is situated 54 kilometers from the capital city.
"An exhibition of 300 motorcycles as well as performances of famous Mongolian rock bands including Hu, Bulsara and Rapper Gee and contortion and circus will take place free of charge in the field of moto festival near the Genghis Khan Statute complex," Bodi Boldbaatar, member of the "Mongolian choppers brotherhood" group, told Xinhua.
"The festival is one of the main tourism events in Mongolia which aims to attract domestic and foreign tourists," he added.
The Genghis Khan Equestrian Statue, part of the complex, is a 131-foot (40 meters) tall statue of Genghis Khan on horse, on the bank of the Tuul River at Tsonjin Boldog (54 kilometers east of Ulan Bator), where according to legend, he found a golden whip.
According to the Mongolia's Environment and Tourism Ministry, the influx of foreign visitors to the country has been growing from year to year, and the Mongolian government aims to attract 1 million foreign tourists and for 1 billion U.S. dollars from tourism in 2020.
