Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently in The Netherlands. But Dutch culture has also come to China in the form of 'Dutch Days'. This cultural exchange activity between China and the Netherlands opened on Saturday in Wuhan’s Botanical Gardens. 600,000 tulips are in full bloom, allowing local people a glimpse into Dutch living.
Wuhan is the 2nd city to hold such an activity, following Shanghai. Hundreds of thousands of tulips in different colors and shapes make the botanical garden the right choice for the opening of the “Dutch’s Days” cultural exchange program.
A Dutch embassy minister, Andre Driessen, addressed the ceremony, saying that the exchange program will cover culture, history, trade, sports and many other aspects.
"I hope we will give them an impression of a beautiful small country in Europe which comes here with best wishes and good will to China. In the hope to cooperate, the hopes of cultural exchange, education exchange, and people to people exchange will be intensified in the next few years. And I hope that the Dutch Days in the next couple of weeks will contribute to that. And I hope for the Dutch and Chinese people the best for the future." said Andre Driessen, Deputy Head of Mission, Royal Netherlands Embassy.
The botanical garden have grown tulips for more than 10 years, with the current number of Holland’s national flower exceeding 600,000 in over 100 species. A local gardening expert says that they have carefully arranged the tulips in a harmonious way.