China Matters’ Feature: Birding Pals’s Project X in Zhongshan

The white tern, with black eyes and a black, sharp bill, is a scarce migrant seabird that is completely white. Although widespread around the Pacific, white terns breed only in and around the urban area of Honolulu, Hawaii, which explains why they are called “the official bird of Honolulu”. In Zhongshan, a sister city of Honolulu, nearly 250 bird species have been recorded so far, and this number is expected to rise year on year thanks to its perfect location in Guangdong province, home to the longest coastline in China. It serves as an important refueling station for shore birds.

Have white terns ever visited Zhongshan? How does Zhongshan preserve its ecological environment to attract so many birds to stop by, settle down and breed there?

In this video, China Matters and bird photographer Nicholas Ludovic Green head to Zhongshan Cuiheng National Wetland Park, which boasts a sizable shorebird record, eager to look for the figure of white terns. During the visit, they are learning more about the measures the wetland park has taken to enrich the diversity of species. Also, it’s intriguing that they manage to find some others who are wanting to engage in and support them in completing their mission.

Will they be fortunate enough to find the mysterious, rarely-seen little white terns? What is there to look forward to in other rare but well-known wild animals in Zhongshan?

Contact: Wu Xuanni

Tel: 008610-68996566

E-mail: chloefeng@foxmail.com

China Matters’ Feature: How did Honolulu and Zhongshan create intertwining legacies?

What do Honolulu and the city of Zhongshan thousands of miles away have in common? Why did these two seemingly unrelated places become sister cities in 1997?
It’s reported that 80% of Chinese and Chinese Americans living in Honolulu come from China’s Zhongshan. The story of the little-known connection dates back to the 1800s, when Zhongshan-born Dr. Sun Yat-sen spent many of his young years studying in Honolulu. Dr. Sun Yat-sen was a historical figure of epic proportions in China, having led the revolution that ended dynasty rule and officially brought China into the modern era.
The connection between Honolulu and Zhongshan remains strong today with many Zhongshan natives residing in Hawaii. The Cheng family has lived in Honolulu for some time now. Cheng Minxing often traveled back and forth raising money for building a new school in Zhongshan. Overseas Zhongshan natives are also giving their left behind houses a new lease on life, working together with young business-owners in Zhongshan to transform these historical homes into stores and workshops.
In this video, we follow Professor Mark Jayne as he dives into the intertwined relationship between Honolulu and Zhongshan. He visits former Honolulu resident Cheng Minxing and his newly built school in Zhongshan and visits a historical house that has been renovated into a workshop for traditional Chinese instruments.
How are overseas Chinese communities solidifying the links between Honolulu and Zhongshan? How does their work carry on the legacies? Check the video to see more interesting stories of these two cities.

Contact: Feng Kehui
Tel: 008610-68996566
E-mail: chloefeng@foxmail.com

China Matters’ Feature：Why Zhongshan and Burnaby are called the cities of gaming?

With a bunch of popular online games, the Canadian gaming industry enjoys a high reputation globally. Burnaby is a pacesetter in the country’s gaming industry. After over 20 years of development, Burnaby has formed a diverse industrial cluster.

The video game industry in Burnaby has continued to innovate in terms of creativity, technology, and influence, and has made important contributions to the development of the global gaming industry.

Zhongshan, China’s southern coastal city and a sister city of Burnaby, boasts a rapidly developing gaming and entertainment industry and has become a vital supplier for the global gaming companies and individuals as well. The two cities have continuously enhanced exchange and communication in the gaming and entertainment industry.

In this video, Deniz, a fashion blogger living in Burnaby, shuttles through various cool and colorful scenes of gaming and entertainment and visits the largest gaming and entertainment equipment producers in Zhongshan. Through the dialogue between Deniz and industry professionals, viewers can learn about increased cooperation and exchange in gaming between Zhongshan and Burnaby. The cross-cultural interactions have promoted the innovation and development of the gaming and entertainment industry while deepening the friendship and understanding between the people of the two cities.

Contact: Wu Xuanni

Tel.: 008610-68996566

E-mail: chloefeng@foxmail.com

China Matters’ Feature: Japanese Blogger “Challenges”
Zhongshan Baseball Players

Thirty-five years ago, Zhongshan was joyful to embrace Moriguchi
as its first international sister city. Time has witnessed extensive
exchanges between the two sides, among which the most remarkable
one is the exchange of teenagers who have studied and attended
sports events in the two places. Baseball, the most popular sport in
Japan for instance, is also highly popular and widely spread among
Zhongshan teenagers. Additionally, during the past decade, residents
of all ages in Zhongshan have become increasingly involved in this
sport.
What is the baseball history in Zhongshan and China? What kind of
baseball interactions did Japan and China previously have?
In this video, China Matters and Japanese blogger Rei Kubota head
towards Zhongshan International Baseball Town to uncover more
secrets about Chinese baseball. They are invited to visit Zhongshan
Dongsheng High School, where Zhongshan’s first baseball team was
established. Besides seeing how young players are trained on a daily
basis, they will also have a chance to "challenge" the school’s
baseball team.
Following that, they drive to the Panda Baseball Stadium, which is
named after the “Panda Team” coached by Liang Fuchu, the father
of Chinese baseball who was born in Zhongshan. The 9th Asian U12
Youth Baseball Tournament was held there as well. Standing on the

best baseball field in Zhongshan, Kubota feels it’s time to hit a home
run that he has been desperate for so long.
Will Kubota’s long-desired dream come true? How does he see the
unexpected, long-standing baseball tradition in Zhongshan?

Contact: Wu Xuanni
Tel: 008610-68996566
E-mail: chloefeng@foxmail.com

CICG:Visiting the “Sea of Flowers” in Zhongshan

On December 9, the visiting delegation consists of translation celebrities and foreign media hosted by the CICG Academy of Translation and Interpretation – “Experience the Vitality of Zhongshan Tour” visited the 2023 Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair.

It is said that the small chrysanthemum has witnessed the development and change of this land over thousands of years. Xiaolan people celebrate the tradition of admiring chrysanthemums, planting chrysanthemums, and appreciating chrysanthemums. As early as the Southern Song Dynasty, the Xiaolan people who have escaped the war began to plant chrysanthemums from the south of the Central Plains. In 1736, Xiaolan people held a “chrysanthemum test” to test each family’s chrysanthemum art, which has become the earliest prototype of the chrysanthemum fair. In 1782, Xiaolan organized the first chrysanthemum fair. Xiaolan holds a large chrysanthemum fair every 60 years since the Jiaxu Year of the Jiaqing Emporer in the Qing Dynasty (1814, 1874, 1934 and 1994). In the year of 1979 which ushered in China’s reform and opening-up, the “Chrysanthemum Fair” resumed in Xiaolan Town has attracted the overseas Chinese and compatriots of Hong Kong and Macao in Zhongshan, returning to their hometowns and beginning to invest in factories, giving rise to the first group of Sino-foreign cooperative enterprises as well as the “households with saving of ten thousand yuan” after the reform and opening-up, which have made an indelible contribution to China’s economic development. The 4th Chrysanthemum Fair held in 1994 attracted more than 6 million visitors at home and abroad. In 2006, the “Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair” was included in the first batch of “National Intangible Cultural Heritage” protection lists. Today, Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair is the most famous cultural and tourism event in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao GBA.

Inside the Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Garden, eight major exhibition areas such as the Chrysanthemum Art Scenic Area, the Famous Chrysanthemum Collection Area, the Sea of Flowers Area, the Cultural and Art Exhibition and Performance Area, the Cultural Exhibition Area, the Food Court Area, the Creative Market Area, and the Leisure and Cyber Celebrities Area are dazzling to the eye. More than 20 groups of chrysanthemum themed landscapes have been created, and more than 800 kinds of chrysanthemums combining poems, paintings, and shadows, further highlighting the cultural charm of chrysanthemums. Furthermore, about 12,000 square meters of the colorful sea of flowers are unforgettable for tourists.

In the chrysanthemum garden, tourists are interested in tasting the “chrysanthemum fair on the tip of the tongue”. The meat cooked with chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum wine, chrysanthemum ice cream and other Xiaolan delicacies, as well as the chrysanthemum culture display experience, all offered the tourists a real treat. “In Japan, chrysanthemum culture also has a long history, and Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair has really opened my eyes. After I return, I will recommend it to my media friends from all over the world, so that they can also experience and report on the Zhongshan Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair next year.” UENO TOMOKAZU a journalist from Japan, said excitedly.

The combination of brilliant Chinese chrysanthemum culture and modern civilization has given Xiaolan Chrysanthemum Fair a more unique connotation and a broad space for inheritance and development. Zhongshan continues to expand the “circle of friends” with flowers and to enhance the friendship with chrysanthemums, discussing the development and promoting the prosperity with various forces at home and abroad.

Contact: Zhang Yan

Tel: 008610-68994660

E-mail: zhangyan@cipg.org.cn

CICG: Experiencing the “Intelligent Production in Zhongshan”

On December 9, the visiting delegation consists of translation celebrities and foreign media hosted by the CICG Academy of Translation and Interpretation – “Experience the Vitality of Zhongshan Tour” visited the “Intelligent Production in Zhongshan” in-depth. In April 2022, the three Chinese astronauts who docked in orbit for six months for the first time returned to the earth and triumphed, making the world pay attention to them, and the equipment that “convoyed” them included “Intelligent Production in Zhongshan”: On the China Space Station, two aerospace microwave ovens that provided them with cooking services for three meals a day came from the Galanz Group Zhongshan Base; the “convoying chair” where the astronauts were lying after leaving the warehouse was also developed and manufactured by a Zhongshan Enterprise – Sitting Sense Technology Co., Ltd.

According to Chen Min, head of Sitting Sense Technology, the company’s R&D team spent half a year boldly innovating and developing this special chair in many ways, which can comprehensively and effectively cushion the head, neck, waist and hips of astronauts, playing a role in supporting the whole body, and helping astronauts who have lived in space for a long time to adapt to Earth’s gravity. Behind the “convoying” is the accumulated strength of this national high-tech private enterprise in the field of office seat R&D and manufacturing for more than 20 years.

“It doesn’t look any different from other chairs, but why is it so comfortable to sit on?” The members of the delegation praised an office chair after experiencing sitting on it. Chen Min said that unlike general office chairs, which are based on ergonomics, Sitting Sense Technology advocates re-designing office chairs from a medical perspective, researching and developing chairs based on human biomechanics theories such as rehabilitation and chiropractic to make them more suitable for human needs. Nowadays, Sit Sense Technology has been highly recognized by overseas consumers and has become a seat provider for many Forbes Top500 companies and large international conferences.

At the Galanz Group’s Zhongshan Base, the delegation visited its “smart factory” – a microwave oven production workshop up close: hundreds of robots waving its arms, after firmly “grabbing” parts with suction cups, quickly and accurately placed them in the corresponding position of the machine tool. After processing the parts, the next robot “took them away” to start the next processing stage. Zou Nengji, vice president of Galanz Group, said that since the transformation of the production of civil microwave ovens in the early 1990s, Galanz has accumulated the experience of research and development over more than three decades. After the long-term technological innovation, it has now broken through the technical barriers of foreign manufacturers, has many core technologies in the field of microwave ovens, and has achieved global leadership in the production and sale of microwave ovens.

From industrial city to strong industrial city to high-quality development, the “Intelligent Production in Zhongshan” has not only burst out the innovation vitality of the private economy in Zhongshan, but also a broader development platform.

Contact: Zhang Yan

Tel: 008610-68994660

E-mail: zhangyan@cipg.org.cn