The auspicious blooming of sweet osmanthus
The grand opening ceremony of the International Sweet Osmanthus Festival in Nanjing, China on September 23rd

The 11th International Sweet Osmanthus Festival in Nanjing, China will be opened with a grand mien in the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum on September 23rd and closed on October 11. October 1 this year will be the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and October 3 will be the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, so this Sweet Osmanthus Festival will offer boundless conviviality by overlapping other festivals. (Please refer to Appendix Ⅰ A List of the Wonderful Events of the International Sweet Osmanthus Festival in Nanjing, China in 2009). As seen by the reporter, the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum is now full of fragrance and clusters of beautiful osmanthus flowers, offering a strong atmosphere of festivity and auspice.

The scenic area is decorated with 300 thousand pots of flowers, welcoming the National Day in a lively and auspicious way

Flowers arranged for the festival in the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum this year are much superior to those of last year in number, contents and forms. Most of the flowers are arranged in three parts of the scenic area, including Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum, the Ming Tomb and Linggu Temple.
With “circles” as their elements of design, the patterns of flowers arranged in front of the Square of Philanthropy in the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum symbolize the unity of all the people in China. Four arc patterns are respectively arranged on both sides of the Square of Philanthropy below the staircase (totaling eight patterns), allegorically connoting “welcoming the tourists from all directions”. The patterns of flowers arranged on the three staircases in front of the Sacrifice Hall consist of “National Day”, “60” and an auspicious cloud. The figure of “6” is both round and plump, allegorically connoting the harmonious development of our motherland and the enterprising spirit of Chinese Nation. The figure of “0” highlights festivity and auspice as well as symbolizes the unity of the people of various nationalities. “The pattern of auspicious cloud” implies “The emergence of an auspicious cloud cleanses and purifies the human world”, as well as blesses Chinese people with auspice. Featured by a simple and grand style, a bright and vivid color and a distinct theme, the entire picture highlights the theme of “festivity and auspice”.
As the major venue for the Sweet Osmanthus this year, the Scenic Area of Linggu Temple has increased the number of flowers arranged in a three-dimensional way, as well as added wooden flower jars, three-dimensional flower stands and iron-made flower stands, etc. to its basic plane composition of pictures, thus making the entire flower landscape more solid and abundant. As seen by the reporter on the spot, from the entrance to the Scenic Area of Linggu Temple to its major trunks, flowers serve as a major form of decoration, so as to enrich the festive atmosphere.
As learned by the reporter, there are more varieties of flowers arranged in scenic areas this year.  Most of them have a vivid and warm color, such as Tagetes erecta L., ZinniaeIegans, Tagetes patula, Petunia hybrida, Sansevieria trifasciata and Celosia argentea Linn. More than 300 thousand pots of flowers have been arranged for the festival in the entire Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum.

A rigorous plan of traffic management ensures a desirable order in the scenic area

Citizens and tourists will be most concerned about the traffic condition in the scenic area during the National Day. As learned by the reporter, in order to reinforce the management over the security and traffic in the scenic area during the festival, as well as ensure the smooth flow of passengers and vehicles, the Administration of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum has specially invited 30 armed police, as well as more than 100 students from the school of public security and police, so as to reinforce the forces on duties in this scenic area.     
During the festival, no major adjustment will be made to various bus routes in the scenic area. The routes of the No. 9 Bus and the No.1 Argos Bus for Tourists: running straight into the bus stop in the Commercial Street from Xingjianting along the Mausoleum Road; after picking up passengers, running away from the scenic area along the Road in Front of the Mausoleum and the Mausoleum Road from the exit of the parking lot of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum. The routes of the No.2 Argos Bus for Tourists, the No.20 Argos Bus , the No. 3 Bus for Tourists and the No. 315 Bus will remain unchanged. All the taxis shall stop at the temporary site for having passengers off, 50 meters in front of the bus stop of the No. 3 Bus for Tourists on the Road in Front of the Mausoleum ( a temporary sign will be set up on the spot). No vehicle shall retrace its way on the Road in Front of the Mausoleum.
In addition, the Administration of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum has formulated a rigorous plan of evacuating people and a rigorous plan of evacuating “road traffic” in case of emergency, as well as made relevant deployment and arrangement for various circumstances likely to occur during the peak hours of passenger flow. At present, the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum has a parking lot of 81.926 thousand square meters in total, capable of holding 265 big vehicles, 299 medium vehicles and 1094 small vehicles (Please refer to Appendix Ⅱ “A List of the Capacity of Parking Lots in the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum” for details) . However, considering the ecological environment and the tourist order of the scenic area, tourists should try to take buses while going to visit the scenic area.
During the festival, the ticket price of the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum will remain unchanged. Tourists holding the Annual Card of the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum in 2009 and the Old Age Card are entitled to enter the scenic area free of charge. In addition, retired cadres, soldiers in service and the disabled can enter the scenic area free of charge on the strength of effective certificates.As learned by the reporter, the information about the events of the Sweet Osmanthus Festival this year will be released in time in “the special column of the International Sweet Osmanthus Festival in Nanjing, China in 2009” in  Xici Website （http://www.xici.net/b1153431/）.  (Reported by Wang Yi)

Appendix Ⅰ A List of the Wonderful Events of the International Sweet Osmanthus Festival in Nanjing, China in 2009

1. The opening ceremony of Nanjing International Festival of Sweet Osmanthus in 2009, China
Time: The morning of September 23 (Wednesday)
Place:  The stage of“Sweet Osmanthus King” in Linggu Scenic Area

2. The opening ceremony of “Nanjing Memorial Hall of Anti-Japanese Aviation”
Time: The morning of September 26 (Saturday)
Place: Nanjing Memorial Hall of Anti-Japanese Aviation, Wangjiawan, at the northern foot of the Purple Mountain

3. The concert of symphony with poetry recitation
Time: From October 1 to 3 (10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. -3:00 p.m.), from October 4 to 6 (10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.)

4. Humorous stilt performance 
Time: 10:00a.m.-11:30a.m. from October 2 to October 7
Place: the stage of “Sweet Osmanthus King” in Linggu Scenic Area

5. The exhibition of traditional food made of sweet osmanthus and the Festival of Sweet Osmanthus Food
Time: During the Festival of Sweet Osmanthus
Place: Lawn of Sweet Osmanthus King, and Square in front of the Pine-Wind Pavilion

6. The on-the-spot prize quiz entitled “Romantic Charm of the Ming Dynasty” in the Ming Building at Ming Tomb

Time: During the Festival of Sweet Osmanthus
Place: Inside the Ming Building at Ming Tomb

7. The exhibition of paintings and calligraphic works by old generals of the People’s Republic of China
Time: During the Festival of Sweet Osmanthus
Place: Exhibition Hall of the Ming Tomb Museum 

8. A special photo exhibition for celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of PRC
Time: During the Festival of Sweet Osmanthus
Place: Zhongshan Library

9. Revealing the secret of Linggu stone inscriptions
Time: During the Festival of Sweet Osmanthus

Appendix II List of Parking Capacity of the Scenic Area of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum