On the afternoon of April 2, the Opening Ceremony of 2024 Begonia Cultural Festival and Begonia Poetry Meeting of "Appreciating Begonia Blossoms and Tasting Chinese Culture" was held at the former residence of Honorary President of the People's Republic of China Comrade Song Ching Ling. Li Bin, Vice Chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of China Song Ching Ling Foundation, attended the ceremony.
Before the opening ceremony, Li Bin had cordial and friendly exchanges with the envoys of the invited countries. She pointed out that civilizations are colorful because of exchanges and rich because of mutual understanding. As a peace messenger committed to enhancing international friendship, China Song Ching Ling Foundation carries out various forms of Chinese-foreign humanistic exchanges in many fields such as culture, sports, education and public welfare. In recent years, it has gradually built the Begonia Cultural Festival and Begonia Poetry Meeting into a platform for Chinese-foreign humanistic exchanges, using flowers as a medium to meet friends through culture. We are willing to strengthen contact and cooperation with embassies and institutions in China, actively promote the implementation of the Global Civilization Initiative, strengthen international humanistic exchanges and cooperation, and make joint efforts to promote the blossoming of various civilizations of mankind.
Li Bin, together with Chinese and foreign guests, painted golden stamens for the Chinese painting Begonia Welcomes Spring and enjoyed poetry recitation and cultural performances.
Shen Beili, Vice President of China Song Ching Ling Foundation, Tan Haiquan, Ambassador of Singapore in China, and Yuan Haipeng, Deputy Secretary of Xicheng District Committee of Beijing Municipality, delivered speeches on behalf of the organizers, foreign guests and supporting units respectively. More than 150 people attended the event, including envoys and diplomats of many countries in China, representatives of international organizations, heads of relevant domestic institutions, leaders of Xicheng District, and representatives of the Foundation's board of directors.
Shen Beili said that the Global Civilization Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping has contributed Chinese wisdom to the promotion of tolerance and coexistence, exchanges and mutual understanding among different civilizations, and provided Chinese solutions for creating a new situation of humanistic exchanges, cultural integration and people-to-people communication among countries around the world. Over the past 42 years since its establishment, the China Song Ching Ling Foundation has carried out many activities of civil and cultural exchanges with other countries, and set up many unique platforms for international exchange activities among young people, thus contributing to the implementation of the Global Civilization Initiative and the promotion of world peace, development and progress. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. We will carry on the unfinished work of Mrs. Song Ching Ling, promote her noble spirit and work hand in hand with friends from all countries to build a better world.
Mr. Chen Haiquan expressed his gratitude to the China Song Ching Ling Foundation for inviting foreign ambassadors and representatives to visit the former residence of Song Ching Ling on such a beautiful spring day to enjoy the beauty of the begonias. As the relationship between countries lies in the closeness of people, we expect the Foundation to continue to work closely with the envoys and related organizations in China on humanistic exchanges and people-to-people contacts, so as to continuously enhance the friendship between the people of China and various countries, including Singapore. We hope that our foreign envoys will participate in more similar humanistic exchanges in various parts of China, and we also welcome our Chinese friends to visit our respective countries to experience the different customs and customs!
Yuan Haipeng said that this year's Begonia Poetry Meeting is the seventh, in the season of Xifu Begonia competing for fragrance and beauty, we use the flower as a media, use the most beautiful traditional cultural treasures of China, and use the world's common poetic art to enjoy and recite the classics with guests from different countries, further strengthen cultural exchanges, and promote the civilizations of different countries to be more mutual acquaintance, affinity, and integration.
"With pleased sounds the deer call to one another, eating the wood of the fields. I have here admirable guests, who can play the drums and Sheng." The performance opened with the recitation of Xiao Ya - Deer Song, in which the Chinese and foreign guests experienced the joyful scene of the gathering of guests and friends from the rhythm of the Classic of Poetry, the first collection of poems in ancient China.
Famous artists and four international friends recited famous Chinese and foreign poems in French, Russian, English, Spanish and Chinese, and the mingling of sound, poetry and painting vividly demonstrated the charm of different cultures, bringing a wonderful audio-visual enjoyment to the audience.
The Chamber Orchestra presented a beautiful picture with the piece Spring Day played by a combination of Chinese and Western instruments, leading Chinese and foreign guests to wander in the spring.
Peking Opera artists performed the classic Ode to Pear Blossoms with warmth and gentleness.
The original poem recitation West City Scenic Spot—— Shichahai Record vividly depicted the charm of Shichahai "West Lake Spring, Qinhuai Summer, Dongting Autumn".
The event culminated in the chorus of the song Five Continents Singing Together sung by international friends and children and teenagers from five continents. The chorus of the song in six languages drew songs and dances from the audience, conveying the beautiful vision of the Chinese civilization living in beautiful symbiosis with civilizations of other countries in the world through time and space and across borders.
Under the begonias, the voice of reciting poems is beautiful and melodious; in the former residence in April, the strings and songs are non-stop. Chinese and foreign guests chorused softly on the lawn, strolled among the pavilions, chatted cordially in the courtyard paths, and visited and experienced the rich exhibition halls, all of them were relaxed and memorable.
The Opening Ceremony of 2024 Begonia Cultural Festival and Begonia Poetry Meeting is organized by China Song Ching Ling Foundation. The Begonia Cultural Festival will last for one month, during which visitors can see the "King of Begonia", enjoy the beauty of the gardens and the ancient buildings, and take part in a series of cultural activities, such as poetry recitations, special lectures, and so on.