The launch ceremony of the 2012 Silk Road Ski Festival in Urumqi was held in Beijing on Wednesday.

About 200 diplomats from 81 countries, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the State Council's Information Office, the National Tourism Bureau and the Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries attended the ceremony.

Attendees also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Friendship Association of Ambassadors and Madams to Experience Chinese Culture.

This year marks both the 10th anniversary of the Silk Road Ski Festival and of the association. The organizers decided to cooperate with each other to further promote the festival and Chinese culture globally.

The Silk Road Ski Festival is the biggest winter tourism festival in western China.

The festival has successfully promoted ski tourism and the diverse ethnic culture of the autonomous region.The event was hosted by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Urumqi Municipal Government and the Tourism Bureau of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and co-sponsored by the Tourism Bureau of the Urumqi Municipal Government and the Anna C. Chennault International Cooperation & Exchange Promotion Association.