A view of the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden. [Photo/Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden]

The sixth Shanghai International Orchid Show opened on April 28 at the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden and will last until May 12, showcasing over 200 different species, among which about 70 are rare and endangered.

Two brand-new orchid species were introduced during the inauguration ceremony. One was cultivated by the botanical garden and named after Kenya botanical expert Daniel Odhiambo Miyawa, and the other is named Paphiopedilum Lvyuan Hongyun.

The show features four sections — technology, nature, tradition, and art — designed with different themes. For example, an oceanic setting inside the greenhouse is presented to show the charm of rare orchids.

The Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden is doing well in orchid protection, breeding more than 1,000 species and 25,000 plants, leading this field.

Orchids, as rare nature treasures, are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), accounting for 90 percent of the endangered wild plants recorded in the Convention.

China has also significantly added orchids to the list of wild plants under national key protection updated in 2021, highlighting the increasingly severe threat to their survival.

Source: "shanghaifabu" WeChat account