2023 Philadelphia Flower Show Date: March 4 to March 12, 2023

2023 Philadelphia Flower Show Venue: Pennsylvania Convention Center

The Philadelphia Flower Show, organized by the non-profit Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, is the most prestigious horticultural and floral show in North America, with a long and influential history. Nearly 200 years ago, each year a theme, according to different themes, the exhibition field of landscape floral works will also use different creative materials, known as the flower industry's "Oscar" event.

Last year, the U.S.-China Business & Tourism Federation (USCBTF) organized the first Chinese Cultural Festival at the Philadelphia Flower Show, showcasing Hangzhou's silk and embroidery as well as Yangzhou's lacquer ware, paper-cutting and other non-heritage handicrafts, and promoting the cities of Hangzhou and Yangzhou. This year, the U.S.-China Business & Tourism Federation invited Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, to build a unique cultural garden at the Philadelphia Flower Show, "Chengdu, the Hometown of Giant Pandas". Chengdu becomes the representative city for the 2023 China Culture Festival and will showcase to the American public the exotic flowers and plants of the Mother City of Flowers of the World, the world's non-heritage cultures - bamboo and rattan weaving crafts, the art of Sichuan Opera face-changing, and the world's natural heritages - the Giant Panda and its habitat.

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At 10:00 a.m. local time on March 4, the "Chengdu City Promotion Press Conference" hosted by the U.S.-China Business & Tourism Association (USCBTA) was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Huang Ping, Consul General of the Chinese Consulate in New York, and Liu Renyuan, Vice Mayor of Chengdu, attended and delivered speeches, while Pennsylvania State Senator Streeter, Pennsylvania Department of Commerce Deputy Commissioner Brill, Philadelphia City Councilman Squilla, Philadelphia City Councilman Harrietti, Philadelphia Department of Commerce Director Luiz, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau President Karen, and Pennsylvania State Horticultural Society President Reda delivered speeches respectively. State Representative Hornstein, Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra Executive Chairman Fleur, and representatives of the Chinese community in Philadelphia and other local Pennsylvania people from all walks of life, more than 50 people attended.

Consul General Huang Ping of the Chinese Consulate General in New York said that Chengdu has added beautiful Chinese elements to the Philadelphia Flower Show by creating an exhibition garden featuring pandas and bamboo. Chengdu is the first Chinese city to exhibit at the Philadelphia Flower Show in its 194-year history, highlighting the beauty of cultural exchanges between the East and the West, and carrying the aspirations of the people of China and the U.S. for peace, development, exchanges and cooperation. China and the United States relations rooted in the local, we should comply with public opinion and the people's heart, as soon as possible to remove the obstacles hindering the two sides of the interaction, more for each other to build bridges and pave the way for exchanges and cooperation.

Consul General Huang Ping said that next year Chengdu will host the 2024 World Expo, and that friends from Pennsylvania are welcome to go to Chengdu to experience the beauty of the "City of Flowers" and the depth and richness of Chinese culture. We look forward to the continuation of the friendship between Chengdu and Philadelphia.

Consul General Huang Ping concluded by emphasizing that there is a line in Kung Fu Panda: "Yesterday is a piece of history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift from heaven, so cherish today like a gift". Let's implement the important consensus reached at the Bali meeting between the two heads of state with the spirit of striving only for tomorrow, and work hard for the well-being of the people of China and the U.S., and for the peace and development of mankind, so that we can realize our dreams together.

Liu Renyuan, Vice Mayor of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China, introduced Chengdu's economic and cultural development achievements and expressed his hope that the horticultural exchange will be an opportunity to further promote communication and cooperation between Chengdu and Philadelphia, to enhance mutual understanding between the people of the two cities, and to explore opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides in the areas of economy, trade, investment and the construction of ecological civilization. Welcome Philadelphia's horticultural masterpieces to participate in the 2024 Chengdu World Expo.

Pennsylvania Senator Streeter thanked the Chengdu delegation for bringing Chinese culture to Philadelphia, saying that culture is as diverse and beautiful as flowers, and that the splendid and colorful cultures of the U.S. and China are worthy of appreciation by both sides, and that the two sides can do a lot of great things by working together. We hope that both sides will work together to create a better tomorrow for the people of both countries and the world.

On behalf of the Governor of Pennsylvania and the Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Brill welcomed the Chengdu delegation to Philadelphia, and thanked the skilled craftsmen from Chengdu for the beautiful displays and excellent ideas they brought to the Philadelphia Flower Show, which fully demonstrated the benefits of cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between the U.S. and China. China is an important export market and source of foreign investment for Pennsylvania, and it is hoped that today's Flower Show will play a positive role in strengthening and deepening U.S.-China cultural exchanges and enhancing mutually beneficial cooperation between the two sides.

Philadelphia City Councilor Squilla and Philadelphia City Councilor Harrity said that the annual Philadelphia Flower Show is an important event for the whole city, which demonstrates the unity of the people of Philadelphia and their determination and ability to work hard. The Chengdu element of this year's show is not only refreshing to the exhibition, but also implies the symbolism of harmony between the United States and China in the world's great garden.

Philadelphia Department of Commerce Director Luiz mentioned that the key to inter-country relations lies in the people-to-people relationship between the two sides, and that humanistic exchanges between the U.S. and China have promoted the two countries to get closer and know each other. The presence of Chengdu elements in the Philadelphia Flower Show is a perfect example of the friendly exchanges and friendship between the two countries. Philadelphia has always been open, diversified and vibrant, and we welcome Chengdu and other provinces and cities in China to continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with Philadelphia in various fields to promote U.S.-China friendship and deepen common interests.

Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau President Karen said Philadelphia has a special affection for China, Philadelphia's trade with China is an important part of the city's foreign trade, before the epidemic Chinese tourists for Philadelphia's tourism industry has made great contributions. 50 years ago, the Philadelphia Orchestra's first visit to China opened the door to the friendship of the two sides, and today's Chengdu delegation to visit Philadelphia in the hope of further promoting the exchanges and cooperation of the two sides in various fields.

Pennsylvania Horticultural Society President Reid said Chengdu horticulture to Philadelphia, let us see on the other side of the globe a similarly open and tolerant, warm and friendly city of vitality. We hope that this flower show will be an opportunity for cooperation between Chengdu and Philadelphia, and that both sides will continue to achieve new cooperation results on this basis in the future.

Xinhua News Agency, Oriental TV, Overseas Chinese Newspaper, Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC10 and others have reported on the press conference and the Chengdu Garden of the Philadelphia Flower Show.

After the meeting, guests traveled to the "Hometown of Giant Pandas - Chengdu" Exhibition Park to view horticultural design works, taste Chengdu cultural products, and interact with intangible cultural heritage artists.

The Philadelphia Flower Show 2023 officially kicked off at 23:00 pm Beijing time (10:00 am Philadelphia local time, March 4, USA)! Chengdu's exquisite non-heritage porcelain and bamboo crafts, valiant panda sculptures, bronze masks and panda dolls wearing "China - Chengdu" T-shirts made a stunning appearance at the 2023 Philadelphia Flower Show. Visitors stopped by the Chengdu Pavilion and booth to experience the unique charm of Chinese culture.

Chengdu, the Hometown of Giant Pandas is inspired by Chengdu's city tree, the ginkgo, and the city flower, the hibiscus. From this flower and leaf, it expresses the changes of grass and trees growing and blooming endlessly, the rising development of Chengdu's park city dream, the public's aspiring pursuit of a better life, and the ecological wisdom of respecting and adapting to nature. The design starts from the ginkgo leaves, the pieces are piled up and arranged in the plane and vertical direction according to the Fibonacci curve, and the interlaced spatial structure forms a blooming hibiscus flower. The "Floral Panda" is made of flowers, and the "Sichuan Opera Panda" is a funny and cute panda based on the traditional theater characters of Chengdu, Sichuan. At the same time, the bamboo structure and bamboo weaving techniques were combined to enrich the details and texture of the modeling, and to savor the song of Hibiscus City written to the world.

Part of the content from the public number "Chinese Consulate General in New York", public number "City Park".