Release Ceremony of the "One Flower, One Garden, One City" Promotional Video Series for the 2019 Beijing International Horticulture Expo & Dialogue on the Global Significance of the Two-mountain Theory

I. Introduction of the Promotional Video Series for the Expo

The Beijing Expo 2019 is a vivid annotation to China's endeavor of building an eco-friendly country, and a perfect platform amplifying the voice that "lucid water and lush mountain are mountains of gold and silver". To help promote the Expo, Beijing Municipal Information Office led a production team consisting of Beijing World Horticulture Expo Bureau, the Foreign Affairs Office of Beijing Municipal Government and Guangming Daily which produced a promotional video series for the Beijing Expo 2019. Expert teams also included professionals from the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing Research Institute of Horticulture Science as well as BTV (Beijing Television Station). The promo video series follows the guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Thoughts on Ecological Civilization and the green development concept, and features the horticulture characters of relevant countries and highlights the harmonious and symbiotic relationships between human and nature. The video series focuses on the representative "one flower, one garden and one city" of 10 countries (Cambodia, Czech Republic, Djibouti, Japan, Kirgizstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore and Tajikistan). The videos highlight the harmonious relationship between mankind and nature by focusing on the horticulture charm of these countries. In so doing it also demonstrates the significance and global influence of the "two-mountain" theory as it showcases the mankind's shared pursuit for a beautiful planet, and a community of shared future for all. On the evening of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Expo, the horticulture videos of these 10 countries were played in a loop for 7 times at the front hall of the Chinese Pavilion, creating a welcoming atmosphere for President Xi's meeting with foreign heads of states together with his wife Peng Liyuan. The horticulture videos are a great gift to visiting heads of states, perfectly demonstrating the green development concept and achievement of countries from all angles. It helped leave an unforgettable, pleasant memory for all the guests at the welcoming meet-up.

The promo video series is both natural and touching, and fitting the theme of the Expo – "Live Green, and Live Better". It demonstrates the human wisdom of integrating horticulture in nature, and integrating green in cities. It also showcases men's shared pursuit of a beautiful future where human beings enjoy a harmonious, symbiotic relationship with nature. By focusing on the logic line of "flower – garden – city", the video series fully reflects the horticultural charm and natural beauty of relevant countries.

The promo video series serves as a bridge of friendship between China and relevant countries. It's a bond for building a greener planet and a community of shared future for all. After today's release ceremony, the promo video series will be further promoted online via various platforms such as apps and new media channels. Through the new media network of Beijing Municipal Information Office, Guangming Daily, and key news portals such as Today's Headline, Yidian News, Tencent News, the videos will meet foreign audiences, therefore sharing the eco-construction achievements of these countries to a larger global audience.

Cambodia—Shadows of Flowers Glint Off Shining Buddha

Angkor Wat, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and world's largest religious relic, sits right here in Cambodia. The moment when you set foot on the streets and trails, or knock the door of houses, cottages, and temples open, Cambodia greets you with the lingering aroma of its floral emblem-- Rumdul Flowers.

Embroidered with fiber of Angkor Wat and Rumdul flower, the enchanting scroll of Shadows of Flowers Glint Off Shining Buddha guides you through the beauty of Cambodia with elegant parks, carefully designed gardening, lush fields, and crisscross rivers passing by as you open it.

Czech—Historical Castles Enveloped in Fragrance of Flowers

Boasting long-standing history and rich culture, Czech, a country rests in the heartland of Europe, plays a key role in building global reach of "Belt and Road" Initiative. Czech catches the world's eye with charming gardens and mysterious castles dotted on the soil of Europe.

Historical Castle Enveloped in Fragrance of Flowers centers around Tilia Cordata, Eden Garden, and Prague, outlines sparkling gardens, displays the perfect combination of gardening and architecture, letting viewers appreciate designers' ingenious ideas and the crystallization of hundred-year-old castle and garden art

Djibouti—Blossoming Desert

It is no mean feat that beautiful plants erect here like a miracle despite the harsh fact that Djibouti is one of the countries in the world exposed to the toughest natural environment with over 90% of land buried in desert and volcanos.

Blossoming Desert unfolds the story of Acacia, Day Forest National Park, and Djibouti, leading you into a world of green to have a taste of the country's glowing beauty and free culture.

Japan—Sakura Rain

Japan is "the Country of Sakura". Sakura blooming season always brings the world of fairy tale into real life. The beloved Sakura of Japanese people is the emblem of love and hope, elegance and innocence.

Sakura Rain is about Sakura, Ryoan-ji Temple Park, and Tokyo, from ancient gardens to busy modern Tokyo, the charm of the country is being shown to the world in every possible way.

Kyrgyzstan—Flowers-Edged Awesome Mountains

Kyrgyzstan never stops enchanting you with its historical eastern mystique and amazing you with its mind-boggling mountain and grassland scenery.

Flowers-edged Awesome Mountains uncovers Kyrgyzstan's veil of the unique Moonflower, the capital Bishkek, and Oak Park to present the world with the country's picturesque scenery, cultural characteristics, gardening features as well as livable environment in multiple dimensions.

Myanmar—Golden Pagodas Merged in the Sea of Flowers

Myanmar, a scenery-rich historical country known for countless pagodas, is also a place where you can throw yourself into the sea of flowers. Fresh colorful flowers are regular visitors to every bit of people's life here from Buddha worship rituals to weddings, you cannot miss them!

Golden Pagodas Merged in the Sea of Flowers shows Myanmar's floral emblem Burma Padauk, Pyin Oo Lwin Garden, and Naypyidaw, enabling you to swim in the flower sea, breath in the blooming air, and dress in the bright summer fragrance.

Nepal—Exotic Flowers Blooming on High Mountain Ridges

Nepal is one of the oldest Asian countries standing at the crossroad of great civilizations blessed with numerous world relics. At the foot of solemn and magnificent snow mountain, clusters of flaming Rhododendron Arboreum Smith narrate their stories constantly to the world. Different yet harmoniously matched, axially planted architecture and naturally grown plants form Kathmandu's famous neoclassic garden-- Garden of Dreams

The leading figures in Exotic Flowers Blooming on High Mountain Ridges are Rhododendron Arboreum Smith, Kathmandu's Garden of Dreams, and Kathmandu, they introduce the unique Nepal gardening culture wrapped in the peaceful city oasis, where you would go on a spiritual purifying journey.

Pakistan—Luxuriant Mountain Flowers

Apart from its hospitable and passionate people, China's friendly neighbor Pakistan also enjoys a variety of natural looks from glaring snow mountain to the endless Arabian Sea

With paint of Jasminum Officinale, Gardens of Shalimar, and Islamabad, Luxuriant Mountain Flowers draws a picture containing snow mountain towering into the clouds and fertile plains, bringing us the most authentic feeling of unparalleled nature and special gardens.

Singapore—Metropolitan Flower Charming

Singapore ever enjoys the reputation of Garden City, it is a beautiful city as bright as sunshine even in raining days. Pleasant climate allows Singapore to grow with tropical touch. There are more than 60,000 kinds of plants vibrating in Singapore Botanic Garden like Orchid, Frangipani, and rose that have your eyes transfixed. It is indeed a Mecca for nature lovers.

The diversity of Singapore gardening art and the gift from the Mother Nature will be illustrated with Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore Botanic Garden and Singapore City.

Tajikistan—Mountain Character and Flower Souls

The Country of Mountain—Tajikistan has more than 90% of mountainous region. Here in Tajikistan, flowers are the soul of mountains, and mountains are the proud character of flowers.

Mountain Character and Flower Souls tells us Tajikistan's story of Juno flower, Rudaki Park, and Dushanbe, takes us fly above mountains and valleys, hustle cities, and classic gardens, and points to us the culture of purity, freedom, and openness as well as unrelenting pursuit of beauty.

II. Introduction of the 2019 China Beijing International Horticulture Expo

The 2019 China Beijing World Horticulture Expo (referred to hereinafter as "Beijing Expo" or "Expo") is the world's highest horticulture exposition recognized by The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and approved by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH). Hosted by the Chinese government and organized by Beijing Municipal Government, the Beijing Expo marks the second time Chins is hosting an A1 Level of world expo after the 1999 Kunming World Horticulture Expo. The Expo runs 162 days from April 29 to October 7, 2019 and is expected to attract the participation of 110 countries and international organizations, and representatives from more than 120 non-official entities including China's 31 provinces and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, which makes the Expo the most participated among all A1-level expos. The theme of Beijing Expo 2019 is "Live Green, Live Better" and its philosophy being "to make horticulture part of nature; and let nature touch the soul"

The Expo aims at encouraging human respect for nature and pursuing a more beautiful life. As an important step practicing Xi Jinping's Thoughts on Ecological Civilization and an endeavor to build an eco-friendly country, the Beijing Expo also elevated world's horticulture to a higher ground.

First of all, the planning and construction of the park follows the concept of "prioritizing ecological protection, and putting nature in the center" and pursues harmony between man and nature. The forests and mountains are lush, the plains are covered in green, and birds are tweeting everywhere. Such natural beauty brings an aesthetic enjoyment to people, and also represents the mankind's pursuit for a better future. Reckless exploitation will eventually lead to the revenge of nature against mankind, whereas reasonable development and friendly preservation of nature will bring boundless yields to mankind. We need to maintain the eco-balance of planet earth so our decedents are left with abundant material legacies. The green development concept conveyed by the Expo Park with its beautiful scenery will spread to all corners of the world. This concept was embraced from the design stage. With only two years, we transformed a plain mountain into a splendid garden. We left people with a forest, and now there are as many as 50,000 trees inside the park, by the river of Weishui, at the foot of Tiantian Mountain and on the grassland of Qingyangzhou. These trees are providing a green shade to all visitors to the park. To make sure there are different plant colors in all seasons, we planted a total of 50,000 arbor trees and shrubs, which generates a fantastic synergy and offers a rare chance for people to get close to nature. We also well preserved a large area of wetland. As one of the three important eco-systems of the planet, wetland supports biodiversity and purifies water. Inside the park visitors can see representative plants from all over the world, they can also see swans and ducks by the river bank. The previous Wei River Forest Park is upgraded due to the construction of the Expo Park. 8 swans and many other birds were attracted to the park during construction. We also upgraded the wetland and improved its purifying function. Mulberry, elms and amur honeysuckles are planted to attract birds, forming a natural habitat for insects, birds and micro-organisms.

The place accommodating today's event is called Tongxing Square, or March-together Square. In his speech delivered at the opening ceremony, President Xi Jinping called for all stakeholders to engage in cooperation to build a beautiful home. Only by joining our hands together can we address global environmental challenges such as climate change, maritime pollution and biological conservation and eventually realize the SDGs in 2030; and only by marching ahead together can we consolidate the consensus of green development and can human beings travel afar on the journey of ecological civilization. During the Expo, horticulture works from 86 countries of 5 continents, 24 international organizations, and 31 Chinese provinces including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are displayed, showcasing some new plant types, new technologies and new concepts, making the Expo a global park with horticultures from all over the world. We named the square "march together" to express our hope that in addition to demonstrating our green development concept and China's achievement in building ecological civilization, the Expo can also become a global stage for promoting a green Belt and Road Initiative, advancing open cooperation between countries and building a community of shared future for all.

III. The Significance of the Two-mountain Theory

"A civilization thrives with a well-protected environment, otherwise it diminishes". At the opening ceremony President Xi Jinping warned that overexploitation of nature will bring mankind to a dead corner, whereas the green development concept that respects the law of nature and protects environment will lead to a bright future. Green is the underlying color of mother nature, and the green development concept is one that pursues harmony between man and nature, and between economic development and environmental protection. In as early as 2005, while serving as Zhejiang Provincial Party Secretary, Xi advocated the green development concept that centers on a famous quote – "lucid water and lush mountain are mountains of gold and silver". In 2013, he once again said "we prefer lucid water and lush mountain but we also want gold and silver. But we'd rather give up gold and silver for lucid water and lush mountain. After all, lucid water and lush mountain are mountains of gold and silver". This important development concept is a major guiding principle in advancing China's modernization drive. In recent years the Two-mountain Theory has been further developed, forming a systematic thought on ecological civilization. This thought has become the scientific guidance for China to break through the dilemma of economic development and avoid the dangerous path of "get-rich-first and clean-up-later".

The Two-mountain Theory serves the people's aspiration for a better future: As pointed out by President Xi, environment is people's livelihood, and blue sky and lush mountain are also happiness. Environmental protection is an important livelihood project, it's also the important foundation for people to strive for a better life. It's mankind's shared responsibility to leave a "green bank" for our future generations so they can achieve sustainable development. The Two-mountain Theory serves the improvement of people's livelihood, it's answering the call of the people and also demonstrating the people-centered approach for development.

The Two-mountain Theory is a contribution to global governance with Chinese wisdom: The relationship between development and environment is a major question in the process of industrialization and modernization. The value of the Two-mountain Theory lies in that it abandons the conventional centralism, and embraces the concept of a harmonious relationship between man and nature. It represents a new model where the economy and environment can develop hand in hand. The UNEP has recently published a report entitled "Lucid Water and Lush Mountain are Mountains of Gold and Silver" with a view to spread China's practice in building ecological civilization. This signifies that the Two-mountain Theory has already become a global consensus, and a unique contribution of China to global governance.