An annual dog meat festival in south-west China has begun, amid uproar on the part of animal rights activists. About 10,000 dogs will be slaughtered for their meat at the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival in Yulin in Guangxi province on Sunday and Monday to mark the summer solstice, state media said. City officials have distanced themselves from the gathering. "Some residents of Yulin have the habit of coming together to eat lychees and dog meat during the summer solstice," the city's news office wrote on Weibo.