Kaifeng festival a platform for both business and culture

City's month-long event raked in more than 66 billion yuan in investment

With a variety of activities, the ongoing 37th Kaifeng Chrysanthemum Culture Festival is becoming the main stage to showcase the ancient city's economy, culture and tourism attractions.

The festival opened on Oct 17 in Kaifeng in Central China's Hunan province and is scheduled to close on Nov 18.

More than 3.1 million pots of chrysanthemum flowers have decorated the streets and parks of the city, as well as various festival venues throughout Kaifeng, welcoming visitors from across the world.

At the opening ceremony on Oct 17, Dai Bohua, vice-governor of Henan province, said the chrysanthemum festival has become a good opportunity to make Kaifeng known to the world.

"As Kaifeng is an ancient city with a long history in growing chrysanthemums, the flower has been much loved by the locals and become a cultural symbol of the city," Dai said.

Hou Hong, Party secretary of Kaifeng, gave her heartfelt welcome at the opening ceremony to visitors attending the event, saying she hopes more people from China and the world visit Kaifeng for sightseeing and doing business.

She said this year's festival is also specially dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"With a nature of blossoming in the cold weather of the late autumn and early winter, chrysanthemums symbolize the achievements that China has made during the 70 years that never lacked hardships," Hou said.

The city Party chief added that Kaifeng's achievements during the past 70 years are also on display at this cultural event.

Rich variety of events

In addition to the chrysanthemum shows throughout the city, a rich variety of events at this year's festival are also making Kaifeng an attractive city to visitors, residents and investors.

Events include a forum on the Song Dynasty (960-1279), an ancient Chinese costume show, an international cartoon and animation festival, a bicycle race, music shows and investment and trade fairs.

Kaifeng used to be the capital of the Song Dynasty, a period that featured unprecedented cultural and economic prosperity in ancient China. The forum on Song Dynasty has drawn the interest of scholars, tourists and local residents with a range of activities including shows of ancient books, calligraphy, paintings and food related to the dynasty.

The annual forum on the Song Dynasty is held in turn in Kaifeng and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, as Kaifeng was the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and Hangzhou was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The forum is also seen as an event to enhance cultural and economic exchanges between Henan and Zhejiang provinces.

The most popular of the music shows was a concert during the opening ceremony, featuring works composed by renowned Chinese musician Guan Xia. The concert was performed by musicians from more than 10 countries. Residents and visitors in various parts of the city watched the show on 14 huge display screens.

The first Kaifeng International Cartoon and Animation Festival, which opened on Oct 22, was Kaifeng's latest effort to promote the industry's internationalization.

Kaifeng's cartoon and animation industry has been built on its 4,100 years of history as an ancient city and the capital of a number of dynasties and kingdoms, according to local officials.

The chrysanthemum festival is also a stage for economic cooperation, with a number of trade and investment events having been held there.

On Oct 18, the city witnessed the signing of 102 investment projects with pledged investment totaling 66.42 billion yuan ($9.48 billion).

(China Daily 11/15/2019 page12)