Chongqing- The awards ceremony of the Spring Flowers Photography Contest and Summer Grass Experience Activity was held at Nanshan Botanical Garden in Chongqing on July 3rd, 2021, as part of the themed series event called the Nature Exploration Contest for Chongqing-Hong Kong-Macao Youth.

Hundreds of teachers and students from the University of Macau, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and Chongqing People’s Primary School attended the event to experience the charm of summer plants and foster close bonds between the youth of Chongqing and Macau through a love of nature.

During the event, iChongqing held a live broadcast so that viewers across the world may capture the atmosphere of friendship, explore the tropical plants inside the greenhouse, and experience the exciting activities organized for the young participants.

The contest's public benefit events are spread across the four seasons with sub-activities named spring flowers, summer grass, autumn trees, and winter herbs, where young people from Chongqing, Hong Kong, and Macao take a walk through nature to explore her secrets.

The previous Spring Flowers Photography Contest was divided into three age categories: elementary, middle, and university. It attracted the participation of hundreds of thousands of students from over 400 educational institutions.

This year, young students toured the greenhouse and learned about the wide variety of exotic species on display at the summer grass event at Nanshan Botanical Gardens. Later, they took part in a wide range of fun educational activities such as live sketching, making leaf bookmarks, potting plants, and moxibustion using medicinal herbs.

"This is my first visit to the Nanshan Botanical Garden. I’ve learned about many plants here, and I hope to record them with my own paintbrush," said the young participant Zhou Donglai.

In the Leaf Vein Bookmark Area, staff explained the characteristics of leaf veins to students and taught them how to make the bookmarks using fresh white magnolia and osmanthus leaves, which involved a process of selection bleaching and dyeing.

Students appreciated the wide variety of flowers and learned about natural medicinal herbs such as wormwood. Practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine demonstrated the magical properties of the natural herb as students gained unforgettable memories at Nanshan Botanical Garden.

Li Ziqing, a student from the University of Macau, commented on the experience. ‘This is my first time in Chongqing and my first experience of moxibustion. I’ve really enjoyed the day out.’

As well as moxibustion, the practitioners brought over 20 derivative products such as wormwood foot bath bags, moxa pillows, and incense for the young students to try out.

Chen Ping, the head of the natural medicine outlet Xiao Ai, spoke about how wormwood can be used for many purposes, such as repelling mosquitoes and improving sleep quality. She also gifted wormwood sachets to students participating in the activity. “I hope that students can enjoy the charm of nature this summer through the event.” She commented.

During the opening ceremony for the Summer Grass event, dozens of students from the Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications and the University of Macau took to the stage together. They sang the patriotic ode ‘My Motherland and I,’ where they expressed a love for their home nation and cemented their strong bonds.

Cao Hua, director of the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs Office of Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, commented on the day’s exciting activities.

"It was a rare opportunity for youths from Chongqing and Macau to sing this song together. They share the same culture as do plants have the same common roots. This event has formed a bridge for communication between these young people and deepened their friendship."