Best of Hunan on display in Milan

Central China province showcases its local specialties, strengths

Visitors to the Expo Milano 2015 are enjoying a taste of Hunan, as the province is holding a "Hunan Week", themed "Land of fish and rice near Dongting Lake", at the event from June 19 to 23.

During the five-day event, the central China province is introducing its economy, people, culture, society, tourism, food and enterprises, such as Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Development. Hunan is the third of eight provincial regions from China hosting events at the expo.

Hunan has a long history of planting rice. The province's rice production ranks No 1 in China. It is also famous for Dongting Lake, the second-largest fresh-water lake in the country. It is a region known for its advanced agriculture, with a wide range of agricultural produce.

"Organizing the activity during Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on June 20, is an advantage for Hunan at the expo," said Li Pei, chairman of the Hunan Council for International Trade. "The festival originates from agricultural civilization, which is central to Hunan Week."

Hunan government officials prepared 10,000 rice dumplings, a traditional festival food in China, for attendants of the event's opening ceremony. Thirty-five directors of other state pavilions at the expo were invited to make the rice dumplings, try Hunan dishes cooked with Dragon Brand soy sauce and drink liquor and fruit wine made in the province.

At the opening ceremony there were also performances of local songs and dances, a recitation of an ancient poem written by well-known poet Qu Yuan, a calligraphy show and performances on Wenqin, a musical instrument from Hunan.

The calligraphers created a 30-meter-long work, which will be made into a silk manuscript book. The book will be used as a gift to another nation in the future.

During the Panama World Expo a century ago, glazed, five-color porcelain from Liling, Hunan province, and Juhua stone and Dragon soy sauce from Liuyang won awards. Hunan has brought these local specialties to Milan for the world expo once again.

The porcelain is a national intangible cultural heritage of China and has a smooth and glossy appearance.

In the China Pavilion at the expo, an eye-catching feature is the "Jinju Princess", a chrysanthemum-flower stone carving made of Juhua stone, which measures 68 centimeters in diameter and is from Hunan province. The stone carving is made of some of the best Juhua stone, which is qualified as a gemstone in terms of size and hardness. Yuan Yaochu, a Chinese master of arts and crafts, and Li Zhou, an arts and crafts master from Hunan, made the flower stone carving.

Also on display is a long scroll of Hunan embroidery called A Hundred Horses, which is based on a painting that bears the same name, by Giuseppe Castiglione, an Italian painter in the court of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The embroidery was made by 20 Hunan embroiderers in 95 days under the leadership of Jiang Zaihong, a national arts and crafts master. More than 100 methods, including three-dimensional needlework, fluffy-hair embroidery and silk threadwork were used to create the masterpiece.

The glazed five-color porcelain from Tiling, black tea and stone carvings are all masterpieces from prestigious artists in Hunan.

The province hopes the embroidery, tea, food, wine and fireworks exhibited at the 2015 World Expo in Milan will show the world the charms of Hunan.

During Hunan Week, a series of economic and trade activities were held, including trade fairs and enterprise exchanges. The activities aimed to showcase Hunan's culture and natural landscape and allow potential partners in Europe to learn more about the province.

About 100 enterprises from Hunan had a presence at the Milan expo. Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Development showcased its latest corporate visual inspection system and China National Locomotive and Rolling Stock Industry Corporation's research institute in Zhuzhou and Longping High-Tech showed their renovation, research and development capabilities.

Yuan Longping, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, is known as the father of hybrid rice in China. The nation launched an initiative to cultivate super high-yield hybrid-rice in the 1990s in an effort to feed 20 percent of the world population with only 7 percent of its arable lands. Yuan was designated as leader of the research team in Hunan. His work is on display at the expo to help show China's innovation.

Hunan also hoped to attract more tourists from Europe by showing off its natural scenery.

liyang@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/22/2015 page12)