Imitating quail eggs... The lotus flowers in Shanghai have bloomed, which are small compared to a 1 yuan coin, and are rare in orange and inlaid colors. Drunken White Pool | Park | Size

As summer approaches, Shanghai welcomes its annual lotus season amidst the humid heat. The 10th Shanghai Lotus and Water Lilies Exhibition will open for two months during the Dragon Boat Festival, according to a reporter from Shanghai Guyi Garden.

Joint Office of Three Parks

This year, two parks featuring lotus and water lilies will collaborate with Guyi Garden to hold the Lotus and Water Lilies Exhibition, marking the first time in the history of the Shanghai Lotus and Water Lilies Exhibition.

Guyi Garden has created 6 large horticultural attractions, showcasing over 2200 potted lotus flowers and approximately 5000 square meters of pond grown lotus flowers. There are over 500 varieties, in addition to 250 varieties and 350 pots of water lilies.

The Drunken White Pond Park displays over 70 varieties of lotus, including nearly 300 potted lotus pots and 1000 square meters of potted lotus flowers.

Chenjiashan Lotus Park showcases 8 varieties of 720 square meters of pond grown lotus flowers, as well as over 50 pots of potted lotus flowers.

"The rainy weather and low temperature in the past period have slightly delayed the flowering period of lotus flowers this year, which is beneficial for citizens and tourists visiting the park during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday." Chen Yanyan, Deputy Director of Guyi Garden, introduced that generally, the bud period of lotus flowers needs to be maintained at a temperature of over 20 ℃ for several days before flowering, preferably for more than 14 consecutive days, otherwise it will affect the growth of the buds, and continuous cooling, heavy rain, and even lead to bud failure. Lotus also needs sufficient sunlight, requiring no less than 10 hours of strong sunlight per day.

In 2021, Shanghai entered summer on May 7th, more than three weeks earlier than the average annual start of summer, setting a historical record for the second earliest start of summer since meteorological records began in 1873. The hotter climate has caused the illusion of lotus flowers blooming early, with many blooming in early June, one to two weeks earlier than usual.

During this year's Shanghai Lotus and Water Lilies Exhibition, citizens and tourists can enjoy the blooming lotus and water lilies at the main venue of Guyi Garden or the sub venues of Zui Bai Chi Park and Chenjiashan Lotus Park.

rare and surpassingly beautiful light and colours

This year, nearly 30 new varieties of lotus and water lilies will be showcased for the first time by citizens and tourists at the Shanghai Lotus and Water Lilies Exhibition.

The first appearance of "Tao Ling Shi Pian" in Shanghai is a novel yellow pink color, which tends to be orange when fully bloomed. It is a medium plant type double petal lotus, usually with 86 to 101 petals, and the flowering period is early, around mid June to the end of August. It won the gold medal at the 36th National Lotus Exhibition.

The "Qinhuai Lantern Shadow" flower, which won the silver award of "New Varieties of Large and Medium sized Lotus" at the 36th National Lotus Exhibition, bears its name: the central petal surrounded by pink petals is yellow green, like the dim lights swaying on the Qinhuai River. "Qinhuai Lantern Shadow" is a large and heavy lotus with 373 to 443 petals, which will make its debut in Shanghai.

"E Ying", who won the bronze award of "New Varieties of Large and Medium sized Lotus" at the 36th National Lotus Exhibition, is a rising star in the lotus industry. It is the first new lotus variety with embedded colors cultivated in Jiangsu Province, and its flowers are red and white with embedded colors. In artificial cultivation, although spotted lotus flowers with red and white inlaid bodies may occasionally appear, they do not have heritability in the offspring propagated by planting lotus roots or seed sowing. And "E Ying" blooms continuously for several years, and its flower color is hereditary.

The miniature lotus and mini lotus, which have been popular among citizens and tourists in previous years, will also be showcased at the Lotus and Water Lily Exhibition. There are varieties such as "Jinzu", "Laibin Hongshou", and "Xiaolvhe", with colors mainly in green, white, pink, and complex colors.

There are also red single petal "Elite", pink single petal "Gold Powder Family", and white whole body "Mint Candy". The size of a flower is about the same as a 1 yuan coin.

The body size of the miniature lotus can be smaller than that of traditional bowl lotus, with lotus roots only as thick and thin as thumbs, and each section only eight or nine centimeters in length; Some even do not have a lotus like stem, and some jokingly refer to the tiny lotus as a result of "malnutrition", leading to its small size.

Lotus Fragrance Feast

Guyi Garden is the first "Intangible Cultural Heritage Theme Park" in Shanghai. During the Shanghai Lotus and Water Lilies Exhibition, various activities will be launched to showcase the cultural connotations of gardens and intangible cultural heritage.

In terms of hall exhibitions, the Plum Blossom Hall in Guyi Garden will collaborate with the Arts and Crafts Academy to hold the "Lotus Painting" Contemporary Arts and Crafts Exhibition, showcasing the charm of leather carving and glass firing techniques.

"The city is like a Yi" Guofeng Market will be launched around the theme of lotus. The sugar paintings, dough sculptures, Paper Cuttings, medicine patches, sachets and other intangible cultural heritage folk cultures related to lotus, as well as limited lotus ice cream and other cultural and creative products will show the beauty of lotus from a new perspective.

It is worth mentioning that Guyi Garden will launch an immersive night tour from the Dragon Boat Festival to July 22nd. Participating citizens and tourists can follow the "Lotus Fairy" to explore the blooming water lilies at night, accompanied by intangible cultural heritage performances such as Jiangnan silk and bamboo, classical dance, etc.

As the Shanghai Lotus and Water Lily Exhibition kicked off, a batch of "lotus flowers" bloomed in the kitchen. From the Dragon Boat Festival to August 22nd, Guyi Garden Restaurant will launch a limited season lotus banquet, including 8 cold dishes and 12 hot dishes.

"Many dishes are improved from the winning dishes of the 'Lotus Feast' competition over the years," said Zhang Yukang, Executive Chef of Guyi Garden Restaurant. These dishes are both creative, standardized and replicable, and have the affordability of 'flying into ordinary people's homes'.

For example, there is a shrimp dumpling made with tender lotus leaves as the "dumpling skin", and another one made with tender lotus flowers wrapped in batter and fried with "water lotus".

Zhang Yukang revealed that in addition to ingredients such as lotus roots, lotus strips, and lotus seeds that need to be purchased from Mata Lake in Shandong, the lotus flowers and leaves used in the Guyi Garden Lotus Banquet have been sourced locally, and fresh ones have been directly selected from the lotus base in Jiading. The diameter of the lotus leaves in the dish should not exceed 8 centimeters. If the lotus flowers grow to the size of the palm of the hand, they must be picked away, otherwise it will affect the taste of the dish.

The "lotus imitation dish" that fully utilizes lotus ingredients to imitate other foods is also a frequent guest at lotus banquets. A dish that looks like quail eggs only reveals something unusual upon closer inspection: it turned out to be steamed lotus seeds sprinkled with processed mushroom pellets.