Thriving spring in March keeps on and flowers in April bloom prosperously. On the morning of April 30, the large live event “Flowers Shining in Nanyang, Rose Appreciating on line”and the 11th Nanyang Rose Festival opened ceremoniously. Leaders who attended the ceremony were Zhang Wenshen, Secretary of Nanyang Municipal Party Committee, Huo Haosheng, Mayor of Nanyang Municipal Government, Liu Chaorui, Director of Nanyang Municipal People’s Congress, Zhang Shengqi, Chairman of Nanyang CPPCC and others from Nanyang Municipal Intermediate Court, People’s Procuratorate, colleges and universities, directly affiliated units and counties and districts, with the addresses, by videolink, of Liu Dongsheng, member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC, Deputy Director of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Henrianne de Briey, President of the WFRS, Zhang Zuoshuang, President of Chinese Rose Society, Zhao Shiwei, Vice President of the WFRS and Vice President of Chinese Rose Society, Liu Jin, Image Representative of “Green Tour to China”, Yuan Yongsheng, Director of Henan Provincial Forestry Bureau and He Dongcheng, President of Henan Provincial Flower Association. Mayor Huo Haosheng and Deputy Secretory Zeng Chuirui hosted the opening ceremony.

At the ceremony Mayor Huo Haosheng made an address with great passion and issued an invitation to friends from all walks of life to “visit” Nanyang and “appreciate” rose on line, appreciating beautiful Nanyang roses all of nature and understanding Nanyang rapid changes day by day. He said Nanyang is an important birthplace and best growing place of rose, enjoying the fame of “ China’s Rose City ” and “Nanyang Rose, No. 1”, with the honor of “World’s Famous Rose City” conferred by the WFRS in 2019 and Nanyang Municipal Party Committee and Government takes rose industry as people’s livelihood industry, green industry, sunrise industry and a sweet cause, scientifically planning as a whole and developing rose industry with great energy and now it has become an effective assistance to rural revitalization, integration of three industries and poverty alleviation. Themed on “Nanyang Rose, Sweet all over the World”, this rose festival, in the form of a large online live event by Cloud technology, is a unique virtual rose show and an everlasting rose event.

Henrianne de Briey in her address warmly congratulated Nanyang on the digital rose show “Flowers Shining in Nanyang, Rose Appreciating on Line” of sharing the passion as well as to spread brotherhood between all the rose lovers. She said, “What is better than a rose to spread beauty, love and friendship around the world. During this difficult time of the worldwide covid-19 crisis and its consequences we need to help each others even more than ever.”

Liu Dongsheng highly appreciated the achievements of Nanyang in forestry ecological construction by deep learning and implementation of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s ideology of ecological civilization and the concept of “Green mountains and blue waters are silver and gold.” Nanyang was conferred the honorary title of “National Green Model City” by National Green Committee in 2014 and “National Forest City” by State Forestry and Grassland Administration in 2018. He said the Covid-19 pandemic affected people in flower appreciating to some degree but it could not prevent them from embracing spring warmly. Nanyang provided rose lovers with the opportunity to appreciate rose indoors by Cloud technology, which was, no doubt, a gorgeous turn, making rose blooming and amazing in the “Cloud”. The virtual rose show was an innovation by means of technological dynamism to publicize Nanyang rose and spread ecological civilization in line with the trend of the new era.

Yuan Yongsheng indicated in his address that Nanyang is a big forestry ecology city and of important position and special function in the general layout of forest in Henan Province. Nanyang Municipal Party Committee and Government has been practicing conscientiously Secretary Xi Jinping’s ideology of ecological civilization and the concept of “Green mountains and blue waters are silver and gold”, and striving to develop forestry industry with remarkable achievements that Nanyang has developed the rose industry system integrating researching, breeding, cultivating, producing, marketing and tourism together, occupying the top position in China in seedling breeding, germplasm resource bank construction and landscape application and built the international platform for rose industry development. Nanyang is worthy of the honorary titles of “China’s Rose City” and “World’s Famous Rose City”.

Zhang Zuoshuang strongly affirmed rose industrial development in Nanyang and the event of “Flower Shining in Nanyang, Rose Appreciating on Line”. He indicated that it is a big event for both world rosarans and Chinese rosarans that Nanyang has won the bidding of the 1st World Rose Expo, what’s more, it is the milestone of Nanyang rose industrial development and because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been postponed to the year 2020. He said Nanyang Municipal Party Committee and Government, comprehensively considering the pandemic, time and situation, with innovative idea, keeping pace with the time, hosted the event of “Flowers Shining in Nanyang, Rose Appreciating on Line”, which made Nanyang rose bloom and shine in the “Cloud” , made known the brand “Nanyang Rose，No. 1” to the world and made an everlasting rose event.

Zhao Shiwei said in his address that rose is the symbol of love, friendship, peace and luck. Nanyang spread friendship and peace to the world by the virtual rose show.

Liu Jin said in his congratulations that no other flower is as popular as rose, China rose is the epitome of world rose and Nanyang rose is the epitome of China rose. He also said that the new form of “virtual rose show” made Nanyang rose brilliant in the “Cloud” and in May, 2020, “Green Tour to China” would get to beautiful Nanyang and we would gather in the rose blooming season.

He Dongcheng indicated in his address that it was significant to hold grandly the large virtual live event of “Flowers Shining in Nanyang, Rose Appreciating on Line” at the time of pandemic prevention continuing to be improved after considering the time and situation and that it played an important role in spreading rose culture and facilitating green development.

Zhang Wenshen, Secretary of Nanyang Municipal Party Committee declared the virtual live event “Flowers Shining in Nanyang, Rose Appreciating on Line” and the 11th Nanyang Rose Festival open.

This rose festival was in the mode of “internet live + telecast live+internet interacting”. Nanyang World Grand Rose Garden was the main venue and Nanyang Rose Expo Garden, Nanyang Rose Garden and other rose gardens the auxiliary. This was an innovative exploration with the internet platform in the need of pandemic control to make an everlasting rose festival and make known the brand of “Nanyang Rose, No. 1”.