New garden unveiled to celebrate Shanghai-Hamburg friendship
The Hamburg Garden, a highlight of the 2026 Shanghai International Flower Show, was unveiled in Xintiandi on April 16 to mark the 40th anniversary of the Shanghai-Hamburg friendship city relationship.
Blending the distinct style of northern German gardens with cultural elements of Hamburg, the garden serves as a living symbol of the long-standing partnership between the two port cities.
The opening ceremony brought together guests from both cities, including Ma Yinghui, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government; Gao Hongjian, director of the Shanghai Landscaping and City Appearance Administrative Bureau; and a delegation of Hamburg Parliament members led by Carola Veit, president of the Hamburg Parliament.
"This is the first time a German city has appeared at the flower show," said Veit.
"The garden is a beautiful symbol for the partnership and friendship because there are bridges and flowers, and so there's always hope."
Quoting Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran to capture the spirit of the design, she added: "The flowers of spring are winter's dreams related at the breakfast table of the angels."
Veit said Shanghai and Hamburg have significant potential for further cooperation in areas such as urban green development, sustainability, port partnerships and education.
On what was her fifth visit to Shanghai in 14 years, she described the city as a "booming town" where many young people appear very happy to live and emphasized the importance of enhancing exchanges between the younger generations of the two cities.
As part of the event, five students from the German School Shanghai presented green projects focused on redesigning and reusing old clothes, underscoring their commitment to environmental protection and their regard for Shanghai.
Among them was Yilin Schamburek, who has lived in Shanghai for six years. She said she loves the city and Chinese traditions such as Chinese New Year and the color red.
"I love how Shanghai combines the city with nature because it has a lot of parks and it's also really green," she said.
The 2026 Shanghai International Flower Show will run from April 18 to May 10, offering 23 days of floral displays and related activities.
The festival has two main venues — Shanghai Botanical Garden and Huangpu district — along with 10 sub-venues across Pudong New Area, Xuhui district, Jing'an district, Changning district, Fengxian district, the Lin-gang Special Area, Fuxing Island, Chenshan Botanical Garden, Binjiang Forest Park, and Gongqing Forest Park.
Events and installations will also extend into key commercial areas, parks, and green spaces across all 16 districts of the city.
