We already noticed here in Belgium, even in Europe, that people are getting more and more interested in waterlilies and lotus. We suspect that we have hybridizers like Florian Henaux to thank for that.
It seems though, that this trend is not limited to Europe alone. In Asia also, there is undivided attention for waterlilies and lotus. We presume that here again, a hybridizer is accountable, in this case of course it’s Zijun Li.
If a product gets more attention, the chances are bigger that people with the same interests, unite. In Europe that led into the founding of the European Waterlily and Lotus Association (EWLA), with one of the founders being Florian Henaux of course.
You can see it coming, also in China Zijun Li co-founded together with Mr. Yuchu Chen The Chinese Waterlily Enthusiasts League (CWEL). Mr Yuchu Chen is dean of the Tianjing Aquatical Botanical Garden and of course the president of CWEL.
Like we noticed in Europe, it’s very difficult to reach an entire continent. Therefore CWEL is primary a Chinese Society, but everyone is welcome to join, even outside of Asia.
Why was there a need for a Chinese organisation?
“As an important aquatic plant, waterlily has been cultivated widely in China. Because waterlilies became more and more popular in family gardening, a large number of enthusiasts have emerged. Compared to professionals, working with enthusiasts has it’s weaknesses, but also it’s strengths. Therefore working all together benefits everyone. Furthermore, hobbyists are playing a more important role in the waterlily industry all over the world”, says Zijun Li.
What have they already achieved with CWEL?
“In 2017 we held a conference in Hancheng City.
In 2018 we were able to register 6 Chinese waterlilies, cultivated by three of our members. Nymphaea Chunqiu, Nymphaea Hunsha, Nymphaea Sanya Tiankong, Nymphaea Jiaren, Nymphaea White Jade, Nymphaea Zi Yan.
We were also able to donate every member (70 people) the book ‘Thai Nationality Waterlily in Pang U Bon’ as a gift, signed by our sponsor and president Mr. Chen.
We again held a conference in 2018, in Hangzhou City this time.
A delegation was able to go to the IWGS symposium in Texas. And last but not least, there was a trip to Thailand, both sponsored by Mr. Chen.”
What would CWEL like to achieve in the future?
“We are in the process of making a book about waterlilies cultivated in China.
We also want to found a committee that would take care of translation standardisation for waterlilies.
In the future we would love to organise some symposiums, maybe even publish a journal, even cooperating with other organasations might be an option to consider.
And of course, having our own competition would be nice, but at the moment we don’t have enough hybrids yet in China.”
How can we contact CWEL?
“Currently we work with Wechat to communicate with each other. But you can always contact me on fadebook if you want.” says Zijun Li.