Gathering Strength, Empowering, Integrating Innovation, and Achieving Far-reaching Goals: Jointly Opening a New Chapter of High-Quality Development for the Industry — Chairman Chen Chang Attends the Inaugural Event of the Bonsai and Viewing Stone Committee of the China Ornamental Stone Association

By Guangzhou Baowen Gardens · May 28, 2026

On April 28, 2026, the unveiling ceremony of the Penjing and Viewing Stone Committee of the China Ornamental Stone Association and the National Penjing and Viewing Stone Masters and Famous Works Invitational Exhibition were grandly held in the ancient city of Fengyang Mingzhongdu. Chen Chang, President of Bonsai Clubs International (BCI) and Chairman of BCI China, and owner of Baowen Garden, was invited to attend the event and deliver a speech, and was appointed on-site as Senior Advisor to the committee.

Shou Jiahua, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Land and Resources and founding president of the China Ornamental Stone Association; Pan Zhengqin, former Deputy Director and Party Leadership Group Member of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Special Assistant to the President of the China Ornamental Stone Association; Jia Junxiang, Director of the Office of the China Ornamental Stone Association; Hu Yuxian, former Director of the Anhui Provincial Department of Land and Resources; Xu Xiaolei, former Deputy Director of the Anhui Provincial Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources; He Xiyong, former Chairman of the Chuzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Wu Shoulian, former Director of the Standing Committee of the Mingguang Municipal People's Congress, and other leaders and guests gathered at the scene. Wang Hengliang and Huang Lianhui, Executive Vice Chairmen of BCI China; Chen Zhaonian, Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Women's Federation and Vice Chairman of BCI China; Wu Min, Deng Yanming, Wang Deguo, and other Vice Chairmen of BCI China attended together, injecting international authoritative strength and high-quality resources into the high-quality development of the penjing and viewing stone industry.

At the ceremony, Pan Zhengqin, Special Assistant to the President of the China Ornamental Stone Association, delivered a speech on behalf of the association. Jia Junxiang, Director of the Office of the China Ornamental Stone Association, read out the "Approval on the Establishment of the Penjing and Viewing Stone Committee of the China Ornamental Stone Association" and the "Approval on the Working Regulations of the Penjing and Viewing Stone Committee of the China Ornamental Stone Association", and put forward specific work requirements on standardizing the operation of the committee and strengthening industry guidance. Founding President Shou Jiahua and Chairman He Xiyong jointly unveiled the plaque for the Penjing and Viewing Stone Committee of the China Ornamental Stone Association. Pan Zhengqin and Hu Yuxian respectively presented letters of appointment to the committee's director, senior advisors, deputy directors, secretary-general, and deputy secretaries-general.

Chen Chang, President of Bonsai Clubs International (BCI), delivered a speech on-site. He stated that the art of penjing and the culture of viewing stones have complemented and enhanced each other since ancient times, as the saying goes, "A pot, a scene, with stone as the bone; a rock, a stone, with scene as the soul." Landscape penjing is a classic carrier of the organic integration of the two. The establishment of this committee is timely and far-reaching, building a solid academic support platform and industrial linkage bond for the deep integration of the two major art categories of penjing and viewing stones.

As an authoritative international bonsai organization with a history of over sixty years and members in more than seventy countries and regions around the world, BCI has always been committed to promoting the global inheritance and exchange of penjing and viewing stone culture. President Chen Chang expressed his expectation that the China Ornamental Stone Association, the Penjing and Viewing Stone Committee, and BCI will deepen all-round cooperation, promote the Chinese penjing and viewing stone industry to fully align with international standards in academic research, resource protection, industrial upgrading, and talent cultivation, and further consolidate China's world status as the country of origin and a major inheritor of penjing and viewing stone art. At the event, Chen Zhaonian, Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Women's Federation and Vice Chairman of BCI China, signed a framework cooperation agreement on behalf of the BCI Guangdong Office with Committee Director Shen Hongbing. In the future, the two sides will deepen collaboration in international cultural exchanges, joint organization of high-quality exhibitions, professional talent cultivation, and dissemination of traditional culture, helping Chinese penjing and viewing stone art to better step onto the world stage.

Currently, the development momentum of China's penjing and viewing stone industry is strong, with artistic creation, industrial integration, and cultural dissemination advancing in coordination, ushering in unprecedented development opportunities. The formal establishment of the national Penjing and Viewing Stone Committee is not only an important exploration of cross-border integration and breakthrough development for the industry, but also an inevitable result and positive breakthrough of the common origin, coexistence, and shared prosperity of penjing and viewing stone art, building a core platform for academic exchange, resource integration, and industrial linkage for the national industry.

After the ceremony, Shou Jiahua, Chen Chang and their delegation, accompanied by Shen Hongbing, director of the special committee, and senior advisor Wang Hengliang, visited the National Invitational Exhibition of Famous Penjing and Viewing Stone Masters. This exhibition brought together masterpieces from renowned artists across the country, showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship and vibrant vitality of contemporary Chinese penjing and viewing stone art. Chairman Chen Chang carefully appreciated each piece, engaging in in-depth exchanges with colleagues on site about creative concepts and artistic insights. He highly praised the exhibition's high standards and quality, and encouraged industry colleagues to stay true to their artistic aspirations, persist in inheritance and innovation, and jointly promote the continuous transmission and flourishing of Chinese bonsai and scholar's rock culture.

The successful holding of this event marks a crucial and solid step forward for China's bonsai and scholar's rock industry on the development path of cross-sector integration and international collaboration. In the future, with the dual support of continuously improving domestic industry organizations and deepening international cooperation, China's bonsai and scholar's rock culture will surely stand at a new starting point, shoulder new missions, deepen artistic cross-sector integration, promote industrial synergistic upgrading, and make greater contributions to promoting excellent traditional Chinese culture and enhancing the international influence of Chinese culture.