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Bohol, China’s Jiangxi province celebrate twinning relations
By Gloria Jane Baylon

Bohol province and its south Chinese sister-city of Jiangxi celebrated recently their twinning relations, featuring their respective icons, Jiangxi’s Lushan Mountain and Bohol’s Chocolate Hills.

Jiangxi is south of the Yangtze River, and Lushan Mountain is located in the municipality of Jiujiang. Carmen town is the home of the Chocolate Hills.

In ceremonies on October 12, a first-edition commemorative stamp cover depicting ancient Lushan Mountain and the world-famous Chocolate Hills was unveiled as part of a Stamp Exhibit to also celebrate the 35th year of Philippine-China diplomatic relations.

About 2,000 copies of the first edition letter envelope were produced and were first introduced last August in Manila in ceremonies attended by Foreign Secretary Alberto G. Romulo and China ambassador Liu Jianchao and Postmaster-General Hector Villanueva.

As a project between sister-cities, the letter-envelope is considered a historic first in Chinese philatelic history, according to the Philippine consulate-general in Xiamen, which has jurisdiction over Jiangxi.

A mail exchange program between 35 Bohol and Jiangxi grade school students was also launched as part of the event series aimed at highlighting the friendship between the sister provinces.

Copies of the Chinese translation of the book, "A Selection of Folktales from the Philippines for the Young Chinese Reader," were presented to 35 Chinese students participating in the mail exchange program with Bohol students, the consulate-general reported.

The book was launched at the Shanghai World Expo in June, when then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited China.

In Jiangxi, Bohol provincial governor Edgardo M. Chatto and Carmen town mayor Conchita T. de los Reyes led the Bohol delegation to the event, joined by Philippine diplomats based in Xiamen and Beijing.

The Chairman of the Jiangxi Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Fu Kecheng, led the Chinese delegation, accompanied by Foreign Ministry officials. Local officials from Jiangxi and Jiujiang also joined.

The book contains 10 illustrated Philippine folktales especially published as a gift from the Filipino children to the Chinese children.

The Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) of Jiangxi will distribute copies to schools in Nanchang, the provincial capital of Jiangxi.

Helping in the event were the Lushan Scenic Spots Administration, Philately Association of Jiangxi Province, Jiujiang Post Office, PhilPost and Liwayway (China) Company, Ltd.

The Consulate General co-organized the event with the Jiangxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, the Philately Association of the Chinese MFA, China Post of Jiangxi Province and the Jiujiang Municipal People's Government. (PNA)

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