On August 8, an inaugural meeting of Kunming Camellia Society (KCS) was held at Fengzeyuan Botanical Garden. More than 100 members from nurseries , gardens, research institutions as well as camellia lovers had attended the meeting. Mr. ZHANG Qi, professor of Yunnan University and the director of Fengzeyuan Botanical Garden, was elected as the first president of KCS. Four others were elected as vice-presidents, namely Ms. HE Yinghua from Kunming Center of scientific popularization, Mr. WANG Zhonglang Professor and Curator of Horticulture Center of Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Mr. LI Su, the director of Jindian Park, and Mr. CAO Zhong from Yiliang Camellia Nursery Association. Ms HE Yinghua was also elected as secretary-general of KCS. Four predecessors Mr. ZHANG Aoluo, Ms. XIA Lifang, Mr. MIN Tianlu and Mr. GUAN Kaiyun were appointed as the honorary presidents. 

　　Camellia has been as the city flower of Kunming in 1983 with a view to symbolizing Kunming’s beauty and prosperity. Kunming is the capital city of Yunnan Province where camellias had been cultivated here for thousand years, and many traditional varieties were derived from. During the Chinese New Year holiday, camellias are in full bloom every year, it is quite natural that the locals and tourists will rush out to enjoy the beautiful camellias at this season. The debut of KCS will greatly help to hold Camellia Festival in Kunming, especially the 9^th National Camellia Show in Kunming as well as the 2016 International Camellia Congress in Dali of Yunnan. 

The Honorary presidents ZHANG and MIN and the present President ZHANG unveiling the plaque of KCS