The World of Lotus, The Heart of Universe

After the Painting and Calligraphy Conference on September 7, the 8th Sun-moon Canyon (Riyuexia) International Forest Ecological Health Culture Festival continued on September 8th.  .

At 10:30am, Chairman Liu accompanied guests from Singapore and all over the country to visit the Cultural and Art Exhibition Hall of theSun-moon Canyon (Riyuexia) National Forest Park. He introduced the exhibits both from the conference and from volunteers.

While he was guiding the guests, Mr. Liu randomly took a visitor's cellphone and explained how to take photos of the exhibitions: "Do not take the whole picture, zoom in and select the best part." He showed a sample of a partial peony flower: "Look, this is called art’s re-creation.”

After the visits to the art exhibition hall, the scavenger hunt, mountain-climbing competition and Baishou Road competitions etc, the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion of Sun-moon Canyon (Riyuexia) National Forest Park construction project officially began.

Chairman Liu introduced the progress of the construction of the main scenic spot of the Sun-moon Canyon (Riyuexia) Forest Park this year: “We completed the expansion of the road with a fill of 28,000 kilometers, which expanded the main road from five meters to eight meters.  The expansion laid a good foundation for Tieli Forestry Co., Ltd. to invest in improving the infrastructure of the park in the future.  We fixed the flood-destroyed area of ​more than 30,000 square meters. The fact that we are still seeing a lively park today is all attributable to our volunteers." He expressed gratitude to all the volunteers and donors to the park over the past 20 years. 

Chairman Liu said: "This year we developed the “deep experience” zone for forest tourism and we completed the first tree house.  We borrowed the concept of “See the world from trees” from the Japanese tree house expert who visited Riyuexia last year.  We plan to build a group of tree houses in the future."

There were tree houses in ancient China. People used the houses in summer to stay away from the heat, where they can enjoy some tea and readings.  This type of houses discontinued after the Ming Dynasty. Modern tree houses started to appear in Japan and Taiwan, and now they are popular in Europe and America. The first completed tree house with lotus shape were designed and built by volunteers under the leadership of Chairman Liu.

He said: "The idea of ​​designing a tree house appearing as a lotus is: the world is a reflection of everybody’s mind. Whatever we have in our minds/ hearts, we can have them in the universe, and vice versa. So the meaning of this tree house is: the lotus world, the universal heart. The lotus symbolizes a pure mind without any pollution. How beautiful our mind/ heart is, how beautiful the world is.”

For the long-awaited Riyuexia Visitor Reception Center, Chairman Liu also gave a brief introduction: "It is a tourist reception center, a forest yoga training center, and a forest elderly-care center. It is currently 70% completed."

He also introduced the “passive building” concept: "There is no active heating in the building.  The heat from the windows, the activities of people in the room, and the radiation from electronics combined generated natural heat that lead to a proper temperature for people to live in.  It is an eco-friendly building and energy-saving. The fresh air system brings external air in with minus ion and discharges the internal exhaust gas.” This is the most advanced technology in the world but is also a bold experiment in cold regions like Tieli.  However, we are willing to take the challenges because we have our goal to build destiny for elderly in the world and to support the blue sky for the children.”

 

Chairman Liu said passionately: “During the development and construction of Riyuexia, we ran into many difficulties.  But the Riyuexia people have wisdom and are willing to take challenges. We have overcome all the difficulties and are successful now."

 

Chairman Liu invited the guests to cut the ribbon for the tree house and visited the tree house. They were: Mr. Zhao Ge from the State Forestry Bureau, Mr. Wang Jianfei, Director of the Project Review Center of Heilongjiang Province, Mr. Chen Lianfa, Director of the Iron and Steel Bureau of Civil Affairs, Ms Duan Huizhen from the Chinese Red Dance Association of Heilongjiang Branch, Mr. Hu Xianzhang, Director of Qiqihar Forest Yoga Health Center, Ms. Qu Zhihong, Director of Jiamusi Forest Yoga Health Center, Ms. Wang Jinghong, Director of Harbin Forest Yoga Health Center, Mr. Zhang Hongliang, General Manager of Shenzhen Elderly Health and Welfare Institute, and Mr. Shen Jinbao from Singapore. Xue Yuguang, executive deputy director of the Party Committee of the Teli Forestry Bureau, and Zhang Chengyu, deputy director of the Tieli Civil Affairs Bureau, also attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

At 14:20, the party of “Sound of Riyuexia Forest” began.  Chapter one – Great volunteers.

The Riyuexia you saw today, the tall architectures and the surrounding scenery, is a world that was created by the builders from all over the world.  After seven thousand three hundred and three day and nights, they devoted their hard-work or even lives to lay the ground where you stand today.  It is the spirit of selflessness and dedication.  They used their own action to write the Riyuexia song that will never come to an end. 

With the cheerful voice of the hosts and dancing of volunteers on the stage, the daily life and work of the volunteers were displayed on the LED screen.  The dedication and spirit of the Riyuexia volunteers will become a milestone in the history of Riyuexia.   It will be stored in both file archives and their lives.

Mr. Shen Jinbao, a Singaporean guest, said in his speech: "In 1998, when Teacher Liu brought me here for the first time, it was a big forest.  There were no walking path and no roads.  You had to go through grasses to move forward.  But today, you can hold all the activities here.  Everyone can come here for a holiday party, just like a reunion of a big family.  The reason why I like to come to Riyuexia is because I feel like returning home.  It's my destiny.

It has been 20 years since 1998 and I came here once or twice a year. It has been 31 times. Every time when I came, I brought my loved ones and friends. They also liked this place very much because they not only found their destiny, but also went back to a better life with a better health. We thank Riyuexia and thank Teacher Liu!

 

Chairman Liu said in his speech: "In the past 20 years, under the leadership of the higher party organizations, with the support of relevant government departments, and the dedication of volunteers from all over the world, we created such a pure land from wild forests.  I want to express my deepest gratitude here.

 

He said: "The first passive building in the extremely cold region of China - the Riyuexia Tourist Center will be completed in July next year thanks to all the volunteers. When you live here, you will feel the beauty of healthy living!

The performance was comprised of overture and four movements, totaling more than 40 programs. In between of each program was the announcement of winners for Rifeng climbing, Baishou Road walking and the painting and calligraphy conference.

At about 6PM, Chairman Liu and the guests started the bonfire. Everyone gathered around the bonfire and walked hand in hand.

At 6:30PM, the fireworks continued.  They were like blossoming lotus.  Cultural festival came to an end.

Chinese - English translation：Jing Xia