Colourful Yunnan Fascinating Chuxiong

1. Colourful Yunnan Fascinating Chuxiong Recommended Scenic Spots on 2012 China Chuxiong International Camellia Conference Chairman of Camellia Association of Chuxiong Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan, China：Zhang Fangyu On the occasion of 2012 China Chuxiong International Camellia Conference taking place in Chuxiong, China, it will be the Lantern Festival, a Chinese traditional feast by the lunar year of Dragon, which will be a season with camellias in full bloom. Meanwhile, the 50th anniversary of the International Camellia Society shall be celebrated; and the 8th China Camellia Expo. and 6th Chuxiong Camellia Cultural Festival shall be held. Mayor Yuan Peng, on behalf of the organizing committee of the Conference, has extended his sincere invitation to friends in all social circles. January 2010

2. International friends in the camellia world are warmly welcomed to Yunnan, the miraculous and beautiful hometown of camellia, to make your investigation on primitive-ecological camellias, to appreciate rich and colorful ethnic cultures and to enjoy magnificent natural sceneries of Yunnan. Chuxiong, also named Deer city, is the capital city of Chuxiong Yi Nationality Autonomous Prefecture; located on Central Yunnan Plateau, with the altitude of 1,780m, surrounded by mountains, and with Longchuan River passing across the whole city, it’s a prosperous city with 200,000 population. The committee has arranged some different scenic spots to visit over the course of the conference. Now let me introduce them one by one. Congress: Feb. 5 - 10, 2012 Day 1(Sunday, February 5 ) 8:00 -19:00 Registration and 18:00 Banquet (welcome dinner) Day 2(Monday, February 6 ) 9:00 opening ceremony (Yi Music and Song, with special emphasis of the 50th anniversary of ICS ) 10:30 visit 8th National Camellia Expo and the 6th Chuxiong Camellia Cultural Festival 13:00 visit Yihai International Camellia Cultural Garden 15:00 visit Chuxiong Prefectural Museum Day 3(Tuesday, February 7 ) Whole day in Zixi Mountain

3. Day 4(Wednesday, February 8 ) • 8:30 -10:00 Session: Camellia history and biodiversity • 10:00-11:45 Session: Propagation and nursery • 13:00-15:00 Session: Preservation and breeding • 15:20-17:30 Session: Plant taxonomy and phylogeny • Day 5(Thursday, February 9) • whole day in Heiniu Mountain • Day 6(Friday, February 10) • 8:30 -10:00 Session: Molecular biology • 10:00-11:45 Session: Usage and tourism • 13:00 visit World Dinosaur Valley • 17:00 visit Ancient Town of the Yi-nationality • 18:30 Farewell dinner

4. Main scenic spots arranged during the conference include: Camellia Species Garden of Zixi Mountain Wild Camellia Woods of Heiniu Mountain Choice Yunnan Camellia Garden Ten-li Featured Flowers Garden Zone Yihai International Camellia Cultural Garden Chuxiong Prefectural Museum Ancient Town of the Yi-nationality Fortune Pagoda Cultural Park World Dinosaur Valley. Camellia Species Garden of Zixi Mountain 　　Located in the core area of the National Forest Park, with numerous primitive ecological plants of the theaceae, the garden is truly ranked as the genus gene pool of camellia. Here, Yunnan camellia (Camellia reticulata) naturally varies: semidouble, double and multi-double camellia treasures, rare age-old Yunnan camellias at temple sites are cultivated into numerous species. The theaceae family grows up into spectacular primitive woods, which include Camellia yunnanensis (pitard ex diels) coh.-stuart., ternstroemia, Eurya japonica thunb., Schima superba gardn. et champ, Camellia cuspidata, and Gordonia axillaris axillaris. Visitors may appreciate various sceneries of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved virgin forest and mysterious Yi people’s worship of camellia flora.

5. Wild Camellia Woods of Heiniu Mountain 　　Countless primitive-ecological Camellias reticulata Lindley f.simplex sealy grow on the mountainous area, among which, more than 1800 are over 100 years old, and more than 20 are 1,000-year-old kings of camellia with a base-girth of over three meters. Camellia Garden of Chuxiong Western Hills 　　 Located on the piedmont of Elu Mountain, the garden has more than 100 species and 1,000 Camellia reticulatas field-planted here according to the regional division of Chuxiong, Gaoligong Mountain, Erhai Lake and Dianchi Lake. It’s an integrated city park with species collection and ornamental planting. Ten-li Featured Flowers Garden Zone 　　Situated in the southwestern district of Chuxiong city, within the scope of 6km along both sides of “Yuan-Shuang Highway”, the zone is programmed as Yunnan Featured Flowers Garden, mainly focusing on camellias and made up of lots of private gardens which form an integrative tourist area of sighseeing and leisure, combined with a vibrant flower industry. Yihai International Camellia Cultural Garden This is a city leisure park of featuring 40 hectares of water surface in a newly explored area covering 110 hectares. In the park, there are 1,000 species and 10,000 introduced camellias field-planted on a 20-hectare camellias island for citizens' and visitors’ appreciation.

6. Chuxiong Prefectural Museum 　　With blossomy courtyard camellias, the museum exhibits more than 6,000 cultural relics. In particular, there are over 300 Yi ethnic costumes that perfectly display the Yi people's finery culture and unique folkways. The Ancient Town of the Yi- nationality 　　Here is a large-scale tourist spot made up of the “Yi Tribe”, “Bimo Cultural Plaza”, “Dejiang Town”, “Weichu Tower”, and the“Mansion of the headman”, among other sightseeing sites. Visitors can experience the strong Yi ethnic folk-custom and culture at this site. Fortune Pagoda Cultural Park 　　This 9-storey, 59-meter high octagonal pagoda is the first traditional Yunnan gardening architecture themed on the ancient pagoda by combining with decorative painting, woodcarving, stone sculpturing and copper casting, to reveal China's profound fortune culture. In the park, camellia mini-scapes are displayed. World Dinosaur Valley 　　The World Dinosaur Valley is the largest dinosaur site, according to the Guinness World Records). Here, you will walk into the lost dinosaur kingdom, cross into the reappearing Jurassic World, unscramble the evolution of creatures on the earth, and share the world wonder of hundreds of millions of years preserved on the globe.

7. Pre-congress Arranged Scenic Spots Camellia Garden of Kunming Golden Temple Kunming Camellia Festival Camellia Garden of Kunming Institute of Botany (Chinese Academy of Sciences) Kunming Expo Garden Yunnan Nationalities Village of Kunming Kunming Stone Forest Scenic Area Wanjiawa Camellia Village of Yiliang of Kunming Wuding Lion Mountain Scenic Area of Chuxiong Yuanmou Earth Forest Scenic Area of Chuxiong Dayao Santan Waterfall of Chuxiong Yao’an Meige Cultural Park Nanhua Miyilu Scenic Vale of Chuxiong o

8. Camellia Garden of Kunming Golden Temple and Kunming Camellia Festival As the largest camellia genus garden, over 10,000 camellias are planted in roughly 10 hectares, gathering nearly 100 camellia species from all over China, including the queen of camellias, Camellia petelotii. In February every year, the Kunming Camellia Festival is held here. Camellia Garden of Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences The ornamental camellias can be classified into three main categories – C.reticulata, C.japonica, and C.sasanqua – all of which can be found planted at this Institute. There are some 3,000 individual trees planted in the ground and another 500 plants in pots on show. Kunming Expo Garden 　　As the venue of the 1999 Kunming Expo, the garden pools different styles of gardens and horticultural works, as well as masterpieces of garden architecture of all-level local colors in China and 95 foreign counties. It is accounted as the grand view garden of world gardening selections. Yunnan Nationalities Village, Kunming 　　Near by Dianchi Lakeside, occupying an area of 89 hectares, the village is a window to reflect and show 26 ethnic groups’ social and cultural folkways, as well as minorities’ houses of different architectural styles.

9. Kunming Stone Forest Scenic Area 　　The Stone Forest, a World Natural Heritage, is a geological wonder shaped by the wind and water over 270 million years, mainly featured with karst landscapes. It is honored as “the Top Wonder in the World” and “the Sculpture Museum of Nature”. Wanjiawa Camellia Village, Yiliang, Kunming 　　More than 200 villagers in Wanjiawa village plant Camellia reticulatas, and their capacity of propagating seedlings supplies 60% of the whole Yunnan market. Camellias grow everywhere at the village and spring scenery fills every one’s yard. There are over 100 species and 10,000 individual plants of Camellia reticulata in Shuanglü Garden. Wuding Lion Mountain Scenic Area, Chuxiong 　　It’s famed as “the First Mountain in Southwest China” and “One of the Top Eight Small Buddhism Mountains in China”. Throughout Yunnan province, it’s said that Jianwen, Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, became a monk here. Peonies in the Lion Mountain are world famous with the large corolla, long florescence and early blossoms – there are nine flower color systems, more than 120 varieties, and over 40,000 choice peonies in this scenic area. And camellias also flourish.

10. Yuanmou Earth Forest Scenic Area, Chuxiong 　　Yuanmou is the cradle of Asian humankind. And Yuanmou Earth Forest offers human beings a great palace of sand sculpture art and a geologically marvelous spectacle that is mysterious and uncanny, ever-changing, wonderfully and naturally formed. Dayao Santan Waterfall, Chuxiong 　　Popularly known as “Shuanggou Waterfall”, it’s honored as “the Highest Waterfall in Southwest China”, with the water flow falling majestically from three terraces. Yao’an Meige Cultural Park 　　 Meige is an epic poem of the Yi people’s pioneering, which is composed of genesis, creation, love and marriage, as well as bereavement, in the so-called Yi ethnic Book of Songs and the Yi people’s cyclopedia of production and life. Yao’an is the native place of Meige; the cultural park exhibits the Yis’ Meige culture fully. Nanhua Miyilu Scenic Vale, Chuxiong 　　Nine Yi ethnic hamlets comprise this scenic spot, a community with elegant scenery, strong folkway, profound Yi cultural connotation and well-kept folk-custom.

11. Post-Congress Arranged Scenic Spots Featured in 2 tourist routes which a delegate may choose from: Route 1: Chuxiong - Dali - Lijiang - Shangri-la Route 2: Chuxiong – Dali – Baoshan – Tengchong Each of the tours, however, begins at Dali Dali Old Town 　　Dali had once been the capital city of two local regimes: the Nanzhao in the Tang Dynasty, and Dali in the Song Dynasty. The existing old town, build in the 15th year of Hongwu Times of the Ming Dynasty (A.D.1382), is one of first batch of national famous historical and cultural cities. The gate towers of Dali Old Town are majestic. In the old town, “streams pass along every family’s doorway and camellias blossom in every family’s yard”.

12. Dali Zhang’s Garden 　　Dali’s eight famous camellias are planted in this garden. In its back yard, there are Red Shibaxueshi, Colorful Shibaxueshi, and Zhang’s Camellia of Camellia reticulata, all of which which are described in the novel, “Demi-gods and Semi-devils”. Dali Distinctive Flower Science and Technology R&D Base 　　The base is devoted to R&D on local camellias and other flowers, with a female parent garden of over 1000 improved varieties. Researchers here initiate techniques in pot-planted Camellia reticulata and soil-less culture. From Dali, the post-congress tour splits. Tour 1 heads north to Lijiang and Shangri-la. Lijiang Old Town Lijiang Old Town, a world cultural heritage, has more than 800 years history, with its establishment in the late Southern Song Dynasty. It’s honored as “the Oriental Venice” and “the Plateau Riverside Town” because of its architectural style where “streamlets flow across every family’s doorway and willows droop in every family’s back yard.”

13. Ten-thousand Flower Camellia in Yufeng Temple, Lijiang 　　 With 500 years' history, the area of the camellia crown reaches 56 Sq. meters. Each spring, the camellia blossoms flower and do not faded until summer begins. At full bloom, the tree glories with more than 20,000 flowers. Yulong Snow Mountain 　　The deity mountain in Naxi people’s heart. The highest peak, Shanzidou, is 5,596 meters – over 18,000 ft. – above sea level, capped with snow all the year round, and with a developed temperate maritime glacier that is the nearest to the equator to be found in the Eurasian land mass. Scenery of Tibetan Region, Shangri-la, Diqing 　　Shangri-la is a rare, pure land perfectly conserved with natural ecology and ethnic traditional culture on the earth, one of 24 famous Tibetan tourist attractions.

14. From Dali, Tour 2 heads west, eventually to Tengchong. Tengchong Volcano Group 　　Tengchong county seat lies on the lava effused from Laifengshan Volcano, distributed with different big and small volcanos. There are 97 dormant volcanos, of which 23 have well-conserved volcanic vents. This is the largest-sized natural dormant volcanos museum in China. Tengchong Hot Spring 　　There are more than 80 large groups of air fountains and hot springs here, among which, 10 springs have water temperatures reaching 90℃. Hot water spouts everywhere. Laifengshan Camellia Garden 　　 There are 110 species and 2,500 individual plants of various camellias in this garden. When the plants are in full blossom, the flowers dazzle visitors’ eyes.

15. Ladies and Gentlemen: 　　2012 Chuxiong International Camellia Congress will bring you a traveling attraction to the hometown of camellias. You will be bewitched by the local ethnic folkways, and inspired with affection for nature by visiting the natural camellia species garden. We wish our world gloriousness, and wish beautiful camellias to blossom over the world. Our dear friends, the hospitable Yi ethnic people are looking forward to your visit. Many Thanks!