Chinese business body helps restore butterfly pavilion in UK

China Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom, or CCCUK, on Tuesday, held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the restoration of the Butterfly Lovers Pavilion, which has stood in Surrey, England for almost two decades.

The traditional Chinese pavilion, built by a Chinese horticulture company from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, was a legacy of the flower show that the Royal Horticultural Society, or RHS, held at Hampton Court Palace in 2005.

At the ceremony, Zhao Fei, minister of China's Embassy in the UK, told attendees of the ceremony about the Chinese folk story, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, or the “butterfly lovers”, which is behind the name of the pavilion.

“The story is known as Romeo and Juliet in the East, where two young people who truly love each other eventually transformed into butterflies, flying together to pursue eternal love,” he said. “This ending vividly portrays the pursuit of harmony between human nature and the pursuit of perfection by the Chinese people…

“We cherish common aspiration to continue to promote China-UK friendship and to write a new chapter in exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.” 

The pavilion has since become a popular attraction at RHS Garden Wisley, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, but over the years parts of the pavilion started to rot and the roof began to come apart.

When the news came onto the radar of the business group, it started to fundraise for the restoration of the pavilion as part of its charity projects with the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, the official charity of the City of London.

Zhang Huijuan, vice-chair of CCCUK, said that with sponsorship from member companies, including the Bank of China, ICBC UK, and Haier, the pavilion has taken on a new look, displaying unique Chinese charm and symbolizing the continued cultural exchanges between China and the United Kingdom.

Clare Matterson, director-general of the RHS, said the pavilion is a much-loved landmark in the Garden Wisley, and as Chinese horticulture and design have had such influence around the world, the RHS is very happy to celebrate this heritage being restored to its original splendor.

Caroline Wright, CEO of the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, also attended the ceremony and introduced the charity projects which it has completed with CCCUK in past years, including building a multimedia classroom for a rural school in Shanxi province, and a clinic in Yunnan province.

During the ceremony, Chinese opera singer Wang Beibei and two Italian musicians, Andrea Granitzio and Giovanni Pasini, performed an excerpt from an opera that they created about the butterfly lovers in the restored pavilion.

Henrietta Rous, one of the guests in the Tuesday event, said she didn’t quite understand the meaning of restoring a Chinese pavilion before coming to the garden and learning about the story of the butterfly lovers.

“But now, having known the story, I've got quite involved and I'm very touched by the feeling that's gone into this pavilion,” said Rous.