Ye Guozhen, a 90-year-old "camellia national treasure," creates the "Eight Beauties Garden" showcasing thousands of pots

▲Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien visits the production and marketing team’s camellia garden, commending the farmers’ efforts.

Reported by Lin Yan-bin, Hsinchu correspondent of Hsinchu ZhenDao News

The camellia quality from the production and marketing team of the Hsinchu City Farmers' Association is excellent, with new varieties introduced every year, and production ranking first in the nation. Today (14th), Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien visited the team’s camellia garden, commending the farmers’ dedication and perseverance to camellias, which have brought global recognition to Hsinchu's camellias. He also announced that the "2016 Hsinchu City Camellia Festival" will kick off this Saturday, December 17, inviting people across the country to admire the enchanting beauty of blooming camellias and to explore the rich cultural stories behind Hsinchu’s camellias.

Mayor Lin Chih-chien attended the opening press conference of the Camellia Festival in Xiangshan District on the 14th. In addition to visiting the production and marketing team’s camellia garden, he also helped repot a camellia with the assistance of Qiu Wen-cheng, head of the Hsinchu City Farmers' Association Camellia Production and Marketing Team. They admired newly cultivated varieties such as "Morning Sun Red," "Macaron," and "Red Spring Plum." Councilor Lin Ying-che, Hsinchu City Farmers' Association Chairman Chen Quan-gui, several association officials, and 90-year-old "camellia national treasure" Ye Guozhen were also present.

"Seventy percent of Taiwan’s camellias come from Hsinchu City — that’s our pride."Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien said that Xiangshan District not only has mountains and sea but also a group of passionate camellia farmers who have long dedicated themselves to camellia cultivation, passing down the wisdom of their ancestors and bringing Hsinchu’s fine product — the camellia — to the world.

The Hsinchu City Camellia Production and Marketing Team consists of a technical team with 60 years of cultivation experience.Among the team members, 90-year-old Ye Guozhen is known as the "camellia national treasure." He devoted himself entirely to camellia breeding and research at the age of 16, embarking on a 74-year "camellia life." His development of the "camellia oleifera root grafting technique" has put Hsinchu’s camellia industry ahead of the nation,and even made Taiwan’s camellia cultivation a global leader, attracting international visitors seeking to learn from it.

Ye Guozhen’s home “Eight Beauties Garden” spans over 2,000 pyeong and houses thousands of pots of camellias.Mayor Lin Chih-chien said that over a decade ago, he visited the “Eight Beauties Garden,” which felt like a heavenly paradise. Ye Guozhen not only knows camellias inside out but also maintains his passion year after year — truly admirable.

The Hsinchu City Industrial Development Division stated that the camellia industry has been developing in Xiangshan for 30 years. The camellia production and marketing team cultivates camellias over an area of more than 7.5 hectares, accounting for one-third of Taiwan’s total production, ranking first in the nation. Their cultivation techniques are also unmatched across Taiwan, having developed more than 1,500 varieties of camellias.

The 2016 Hsinchu City Camellia Festival runs from the 17th of this month to the end of February next year. The public can take a shuttle bus from “Taiwan Railways’ Sanxingqiao Station” to the “Hsinchu City Camellia Production and Marketing Team” to participate in activities on the 17th such as the launch of new camellia varieties, camellia exhibitions and sales, special handicraft sales by rural women, and DIY events, as well as a charity sale of a thousand camellia saplings. Additionally, seven camellia gardens, including the “Eight Beauties Garden,” will be open to the public free of charge during the Camellia Festival period. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the flowers.