Various fillings of shaomai on display at the third shaomai festival in Yuquan district, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia on Aug 8. [Photo/IC]

The third shaomai festival commenced in Yuquan district, Hohhot, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Aug 8.

The festival offers 25 activities, including tea art shows, culinary contests, performances, and essay writing competitions, and will last until Sept 8.

About 10,000 residents were present at the launch, tasting shaomai made with distinctive fillings of onion, ginger, shrimp and mutton.

With a thin wrapper made from dough, shaomai is a Hohhot specialty that tastes best when eaten with some tea. The unique fillings distinguish the local shaomai from the pork-stuffed varieties in other places in the country.

Local shaomai restaurants such as Deshunyuan attended the activity to attract more customers and interact with their counterparts.

The event is focused on promoting intangible cultural heritages as well as the tourism industry.

On the same day, the first grassland delicacy festival opened in Hohhot and will last 10 days.

Visitors taste shaomai at the festival. [Photo/IC]