Special Topics

The resources and expertise of more than 30 Government departments, non-government bodies and the business sector have been pooled together by the Home Affairs Department to form a Working Group on Planting of Bauhinia and Bauhinia Festival, which is coordinated by the Home Affairs Department for planning and organizing tree planting activities for different species of Bauhinia trees, including Hong Kong's city flower, Bauhinia blakeana, at suitable locations all over the city, and development of a Bauhinia Festival for Hong Kong as a community involvement project in support of the Healthy Living Campaign. Starting from 1999-2000, a total of 20-30 locations has been identified for development into Bauhinia gardens, and within the next 3 years, a total of 25, 803 Bauhinia trees and 45,800 Bauhinia seedlings will be planted under this project. A number of Bauhinia planting activities have been organized by District Offices, departments and organizations in the past few months, including Planting of the Millennium Tree by the Green Fun, Launching of the Tung Chung Bauhinia Education Path by the Housing Authority, a Bauhinia Show in Kowloon Walled City Park, Grand Millennium Plaza Bauhinia Tree Planting by the Land Development Corporation, Airport Bauhinia Tree Planting by the Airport Authority, Hong Kong Tree Planting Day at Tai Lam Country Park by the Hong Kong Tree Planting Day Executive Committee, and tree planting days in various districts. The Working Group has also published a bilingual, in English and Chinese, and full-colour brochure entitled " Bauhinia blakeana - City Flower" for distribution to members of the public and tourists. When sufficient stocks of trees are planted and new Bauhinia gardens are developed, a full-scale Hong Kong Bauhinia Festival will be organized in a few years' time. We hope this new initiative will foster a sense of belonging among people of Hong Kong, create more attractive tourist spots, improve the local environment and promote Hong Kong as a green, healthy cosmopolitan city.

Acknowledgment: Photos and contents of this Section provided by courtesy of the Home Affairs Department