A Review of China's Eight Great Cymbidium ensifolium Famous Cultivars of 2006

At 10 a.m. on December 17, 2006, the unveiling ceremony of the "2006 China Eight Great Cymbidium ensifolium Famous Cultivars" selection event, hosted by the China Orchid Society and organized by Orchid World magazine and Orchid World Network, was successfully held at Hexian Villa in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan Province, with more than seventy orchid growers' representatives from Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang taking part in the judges' vote. 

       The unveiling ceremony was presided over by Mr. Zhou Bo, deputy secretary-general of the China Orchid Society and secretary-general of the selection committee. After the judges voted on site, the staff carried out careful and intense tallying and calculated the final scores of all candidate cultivars, thereby determining the top eight Cymbidium ensifolium cultivars. They were: Xiahuang Mei, Jun He, Gai Mei, Guangdong Lü Mei, Hong Yipin, Guangdong Huang Mei, Wuyue Qilin and Emei Xian. The entire selection process was fully open in real time through the large screen at the venue, fully embodying the selection event's principles of "fairness, impartiality and openness."

       After the selection of the eight great famous cultivars ended, an on-site lucky draw for the orchid friends' "prize-winning guessing" activity was also held. In this selection, although no orchid friend or judge cast a vote identical to the selection result, the selection committee still decided to draw first, second and third prizes and participation prizes separately from more than 200 orchid friends whose votes were most similar to the selection result; the draw was made randomly by orchid growers present, and its fairness was beyond doubt.

       The successful holding of this "2006 China Eight Great Cymbidium ensifolium Famous Cultivars" selection event won unanimous praise for its selection rules and selection ceremony from the orchid friends and orchid growers present, and also provided a very good reference for various forms of orchid cultivar selection events in the future. Of course, how authoritative the result of this selection is still awaits the discussion and verification of orchid friends across the country after the result is announced.

       According to Mr. Zhou Bo, if this selection event can win the approval and recognition of the broad community of orchid friends, the China Orchid Society will also hold selection events for other cultivars in the near future. In this way, through the selection of typical cultivars, publicity for the entire line can be driven, and at the same time, better reference can be provided for orchid enthusiasts and investors in terms of appreciation and cultivar selection.