(ECNS)— The opening ceremony of the 23rd China (Tengzhou) Weishan Lake Red Lotus Wetland Culture and Tourism Season was held on Sunday in Tengzhou, east China’s Shandong Province, alongside the opening of the 40th Lotus Exhibition.
Organized by the Lotus Branch of the China Flower Association, the exhibition has attracted more than 80 organizations from over 20 provincial-level regions across China.
More than 800 varieties of lotus and water lilies, together with over 10,000 pots of premium plants, are on display.
First launched in 1987, the exhibition is regarded as China’s most prestigious, wide-ranging and influential event dedicated to lotus flowers.
The exhibition will also feature displays of new lotus varieties, academic exchanges and seminars, as well as business activities, according to Zhao Liangping, vice president of the China Flower Association.
Zhao said the lotus is one of China’s most celebrated traditional flowers, with a long history of cultivation, deep cultural significance and strong potential for industrial development.
He called for efforts to cultivate new lotus varieties with ornamental, edible, medicinal and ecological restoration value, while developing a wider range of lotus-themed cultural and creative products.
Efforts should also be made to expand deep-processing industries using lotus roots, seedpods, leaves and pollen as raw materials, while promoting the integrated development of the flower industry, culture and tourism, Zhao said.
Such initiatives could help increase farmers’ incomes, stimulate local economic growth and further promote lotus culture, he added.
(By Helen Mo, intern Wu Jingjing)
京公网安备 11010202009201号