Eight foreign contestants winning the top prize of a knowledge contest about northwest China will be invited to visit the region.

The 2013 Experience China Awards Ceremony was held Friday with eight contenders from the United States, India, Spain, Cambodia, Senegal, Germany, Mauritania and Argentina clinching the top prize.

As part of the award, they will embark on trips to northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in three teams shortly after, the contest's organizers said.

Running from Aug. 28 to Nov. 15, the 2013 NW China-themed Global Knowledge Contest "Experience China" was jointly sponsored by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) and China National Tourism Administration and hosted by China Radio International.

The contest, held via radio, websites, social networking portals and traditional media in ten languages, attracted the participation of 247,000 respondents.

Senior SCIO official Zhang Yanbin said he hoped that the contest could forge "a bridge of friendship" to promote mutual understanding and trust.