Ｈｅｚｅ Ｐｅｏｎｙ Ｃｕｌｔｕｒａｌ Ｆｅｓｔｉｖａｌ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ Ｐａｒｉｓ

In Paris flowers are in full bloom in May and the weather is pleasant. The Heze Peony Cultural Festival was held in Yili Garden in Rambouillet on May 8.

Yili Garden， France’s first Chinese-style garden， is located in Rambouillet， 40 kilometers southwest from the centre of Paris. Three years after its construction， a new scenic spot—the Heze Peony Garden—was added to it. The Heze Peony Garden has an area of 3，000 square metres with 800 peonies of more than 30 varieties and 8 colours presented by “the Home of Peony” Heze City of Shandong Province.

After a rain， the air was clean and fresh in Yili Garden with its green grass， red flowers， pavilions and small zigzag bridges. But what was most attractive was the Eight-Trigram Peony Pavilion built of marbles. 800 Heze peonies that had already taken root deeply in the soil of Paris were fully blooming， demonstrating their exuberant vitality and innate ethereal colour and celestial fragrance. The Garden was decorated with lanterns and coloured streamers. More than 50 lifelike traditional Chinese paintings and photos of peonies were hung in the Chinese-style long corridor. Everywhere was permeated with a joyous festive atmosphere with happy laughters and cheerful singing.

At 4 o’clock sharp in the afternoon， accompanied by the lively dance music played by the French military band， the Heze Peony Cultural Festival was formally opened. Chinese Ambassador to France Zhao Jinjun and his wife， French minister for labour relations Gerard Larcher， members of the National Assembly， the vice president of the Assembly of Department 78， the mayor of Rambouillet， mayors of 15 cities in the metropolitan area of Paris， leading officials of the French Horticulture Association and enterprises as well as representatives of the Chinese community in France and reporters of ten-odd major Chinese and French news media， among 450 people， attended the opening ceremony.

At the opening ceremony， Ambassador Zhao Jinjun and Minister Gerard Larcher gave enthusiastic speeches. Minister Larcher spoke highly of the friendship and cooperation between the French and Chinese people. He said， Heze has a long history of growing peonies and has cultivated rich varieties. Peonies symbolize wealth and peace. The Heze peonies that have already taken root in the soil of Paris and are in full bloom in Yili Garden have added new vitality and vigour to the friendship between the two peoples and enabled the French people to fully appreciate the friendliness and fine values of the Chinese people and brought them an aesthetic treat. He believed that the friendship and cooperation between the two peoples would be as gorgeous as flourishing peonies year after year and generation after generation. Ambassador Zhao said with emotion， the Heze peonies are in full bloom in France， embodying the profound friendly sentiments of the Chinese people including the 93 millions people of Shandong towards the French people. Zhao continued， today I feel particularly happy because the Heze peonies come from China’s Shandong Province， my home place. I， as Chinese ambassador to France， feel heartily gratified and proud to introduce China’s and my hometown’s envoy of beauty to the French people. I hope that with peonies as medium the understanding and friendship between the Chinese and French people will be further enhanced and exchanges and cooperation in various fields between the two countries promoted. In his speech， Zhao Runtian， mayor of Heze， briefed about the city’s economic and social development as well as the history and features of the Heze peonies. He hoped that the Heze peonies in Yili Garden would add more beauty to Paris and Rambouillet， cities of flowers.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Governor of Shandong Han Yuqun sent messages of congratulations to the Peony Cultural Festival.

Under the traditional Chinese archway in Yili Garden， exhibitions of photos of Shandong Province and Heze City， Shandong traditional handicrafts， calligraphic works plus paintings of peonies and Chinese bonsai were held. There were also Chinese traditional instruments performance and taijiquan (traditional Chinese shadow boxing) show. The calligraphers demonstrated their skill on the spot. People streamed to buy bonsai and peonies. The festival enabled the French people to fully appreciate the width， depth and charm of the Chinese and Shandong culture. The whole Yili Garden was filled with a rich Chinese cultural atmosphere.

Before the opening ceremony， the French Minister for Labour Relations， the deputy president of the Assembly of Department 78， and the mayor of Rambouillet cordially met with the delegation at the City Hall. Jean-Frederic Poisson， mayor of Rambouillet， and Zhao Runtian， mayor of Heze， signed the Summary of the Talks on the Establishment of Friendly Cooperative Relations Between Rambouillet and Heze. Mayor Poisson said， Rambouillet now have 800 well-grown Heze peonies. The two cities have already begun substantial exchanges. He hoped that friendship and cooperation would be expanded to more fields. Mayor Zhao Runtian said， in the future Heze would send a delegation to Rambouillet every year in the season when peonies are in full bloom to hold activities to promote and develop friendly relations between the two cities.