Grand opening ceremony of “the 15th International Plum Blossom Festival of Nanjing, China in 2010”

Grand opening ceremony of the 15th International Plum Blossom Festival of Nanjing (China) was held today
“A banquet of appreciating plum blossoms” will be offered on the number one hill of plum blossoms in China

At 9:30 this morning, the opening ceremony of the 15th International Plum Blossom Festival of Nanjing (China) was held amid wavering flowers and branches. The opening ceremony was broadcast live by the People’s Net. Net citizens failing to attend this opening ceremony could watch (via the live broadcast of this net) wonderful performances of a batch of artists including Han Hong (a famous singer) and Han Zaifen (a performance artist of Huangmei Opera). The opening ceremony also lifted the curtain of “Zhongshan Cup” International Plum Blossom Photographing Contest, soliciting manuscripts from photographers and lovers of photography worldwide, with the reward for the manuscripts awarded the Gold Collection Prize being 10 thousand yuan (RMB). The deadline for the manuscripts is April 30. By then, Plum Blossom Hill, as the major venue of the International Plum Blossom Festival of Nanjing (China), will offer “A banquet of appreciating plum blossoms” to the citizens of Nanjing as well as Chinese and foreign tourists.

Various kinds of exhibitions and performances will give full play to a rich cultural appeal
The Festival of Plum Blossoms this year highlights cultural connotation all the more. Various types of cultural exhibitions and performances will be held during the festival.
On February 23, the Exhibition of Solicited Yuhua Pebbles entitled “the Charm of Plum Blossoms Embodied in Pebbles” will be held in the Museum of the Ming Tomb, at which more than 300 natural Yuhua pebbles will be exhibited with “Plum” as their theme, including such excellent pebbles as “Plum and Snow Vying with Each Other in Spring” (reputed as “the first plum pebble in Nanjing”), and “Double Limpidness and Ink Charm”. This exhibition will novelly display the traditional diversified culture of Nanjing, as well as highlight the cultural style and taste of modern pebble exhibition. Small curios solicited, including old jade, old disc, old and small table, old and cultural curio and Nanjing brocade, and other artworks featured by their primitive simplicity and traditional beauty, will be skillfully applied to each pebble exhibited. The pervasive cultural appeal featured by great simplicity, elegance and beauty will highlight the noble and elegant cultural disposition of this exhibition as well as the style of the ornamental pebbles of Nanjing.
On February 26, the opening ceremony of the Art Gallery of Xiao Huirong and the exhibition of the works donated will be held in Anxiang (Hidden Fragrance) Pavilion on Plum Blossom Hill. As a descendant of Xiao Yan (Emperor Liangwu in the Southern Dynasties born in Danyang, Jiangsu Province), Mr. Xiao Huirong is a member of the Standing Committee of Political Consultative Conference of Jiangsu Province. As a famous master of traditional Chinese paintings in contemporary China, he has made success in the art circle through long-term collection, appreciation, sightseeing, diligence and apprehension. In the past dozens of years, he has been dedicating himself to the research into and the production of plum calligraphy and painting. His achievement and accomplishment in art enjoy high reputation at home and abroad. Out of his deep affection for Nanjing (Jiangsu Province), he expressed his willingness many times to donate his calligraphic works and paintings of plum blossoms to the Administration of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum (Nanjing), making contributions to carrying forward Chinese culture of plum blossoms. The Administration of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum sang a high praise of this, as well as decided to build The Art Gallery of Plum Blossoms of Xiao Huirong in Anxiang Pavilion at the foot of Plum Blossom Hill, so as to preserve and exhibit the works donated by Mr. Xiao Huirong for a long time.

In addition, two rounds of wonderful singing and dancing performances entitled “Dancing Like Flying Plums” will be offered to tourists by Ethnic Singing and Dancing Troupe of Qianguo (Jilin Province) every day on the square of Plum Blossom Hill. Furthermore, during the Festival of Plum Blossom, there will be a convivial singing and dancing tour featured by interactivity and participation. Several performance phalanxes (e.g. clowns, acrobatics and folk-custom performance) and several festooned cars ( in the style of electric cars) will be organized, so as to enable activities to run through the entire festival of plum blossoms by forming a basic contingent of mobile tour, as well as enable the Festival of Plum Blossoms to become a genuine “festival of all people” and “convivial festival”. On weekdays, a tour will be organized in the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum. On weekends (February 27, February 28, March 6, and March 7), a tour will be arranged at specified spots in the urban area (e.g. on citizen squares in such districts as Xuanwu, Gulou, Jiangning and Pukou). In addition, some performance contingents will be arranged as a supplement to the tour.

The Miniature Garden of Plum Blossoms will give full play to the charm of Plum Blossom Hill.
During the Festival of Plum Blossoms this year, “the Ancient Plum Area” and “Zhongshan Miniature Garden of Plum Blossoms” (having been recently built in the scenic area) will be also formally opened to tourists.
At present, the area of Plum Blossom Hill in Nanjing has been increased to 1533 mu (15 mu =1 hectare). More than 35,000 plum saplings have been planted, with 350 varieties, including 120 ones registered internationally, thus having “internationally-registered brands”. Plum Blossom Hill has become a famous “urban name card” of Nanjing as an ancient capital.
However, “The rarity of charming and noble plum blossoms lies in their slanting, sparse and grotesque branches”. Only ancient plums can reach this standard of appreciation. In order to further enhance the quality and charm of Plum Blossom Hill, as well as further expand and extend its cultural connotation, the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum has brought in more than 300 types of 100-year-old ancient plums. “An Ancient Plum Area” has been recently set up in Plum Blossom Valley. Most of these ancient plums were planted in “Charmingly Adorned Plums”, “Tai Xiang Zhao Ming” and “Weixiu Pavilion” in Plum Blossom Valley as well as on the top of Plum Blossom Hill. Called “living cultural relics” and “living fossils” among plum trees, these ancient trees give full play to the tough, unyielding, vigorous and upright characters and image of plum trees in frigid winter. The settlement of these 100-year-old ancient plums is “the finishing touch” to Plum Blossom Hill, enabling it to deserve the reputation of “The number one plum hill in China”. Here, we would like to specially recommend the “Plum King” and “Plum Queen” on Plum Blossom Hill. “Plum King” planted beside Boai Pavilion is 6.5 meters high, with a diameter of 55 centimeters and a history of more than 300 years. “Plum Queen” planted beside Weixiu Pavilion in Plum Blossom Valley is 5 meters high, with a diameter of 45 centimeters. Sitting opposite each other far apart, “Plum King” and “Plum Queen” are marked by a graceful pose and exuberant flowers.
“Zhongshan Miniature Garden of Plum Blossoms” has been newly built in Plum Blossom Valley in the Scenic Area of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum, covering an area of 17000 square meters, in which more than 1000 pots of excellent plum products are displayed for tourists to appreciate, including more than 40 pots of ancient plum stumps with a history of over 100 years. This garden is one of the specialized large-scale miniature gardens of plum blossoms in China at present. The garden is divided into five sightseeing function areas: Theme Core Sightseeing Area, Exhibition Area of “Landscape Plums”, Miniascape Exhibition Area of Plum Stumps, Small Miniascape Exhibition Area of Plum Blossoms, and Freehand Miniascape Exhibition Area of Plum Blossoms. In the garden, flowers, wood and rockeries are applied to set off the miniascape of plum blossoms, incorporating landscape, ecology, culture and scientific research, against the background of green plants and distant buildings. By setting up picturesque landscapes of plum blossoms (including “three cold-resistant plants”, “pure and noble” and “slanting sparse shadows”), this garden displays the far-reaching conception of plum culture to tourists. As the most precious plum on Plum Blossom Hill, Bie Jiao Wan Shui has overlapping petals, and each of its flowers has as many as 45 petals. Fragrant, graceful and elegant, it is a very valuable variety of plum blossom trees. A special exhibition of “Bie Jiao Wan Shui” will be held in the land plantation area of “Zhongshan Miniature Garden of Plum Blossoms” for citizens and tourists to appreciate conveniently. More than 1000 pots of plum stumps in “Zhongshan Miniature Garden of Plum Blossoms” have been blossoming in succession, including such valuable varieties as “Button Jade Butterfly” and “Mono-petal Bone Red”.