Bazhong's city logo [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

As an important part of the 9th Ba-culture Festival of Arts, Bazhong's official city logo, tree and flower were announced at the festival on Sept 23.

The new logo features red and green as its dominant tones. The red star embodies the political status of Bazhong's old revolutionary area. The green Chinese characters "巴中" (Bazhong) highlight the excellent ecological environment of the city.

After the city's office of spiritual civilization construction started soliciting suggestions for its spirit statement, city logo, tourism slogan, tree and flower on May 28, it received more than 900,000 online and brick-and-mortar votes . After more than 10 discussions by experts, fagus pashanica was selected as Bazhong's city tree, while the azalea and orchid were chosen as the city flowers.

Bazhong's city tree: fagus pashanica [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Bazhong's city flower: azalea [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Bazhong's city flower: orchid [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Fagus pashanica is a precious tree species, known as a "living fossil" of the plant kingdom. In 1978, fagus pashanica was found on the banks of the Shahe River in Nanjiang county. Fagus pashanica is a unique plant in the border zones of Sichuan, Hubei, and Shanxi provinces and Chongqing municipality. It mainly grows at a height of 1,300-1,900 meters in the Ta Pa Mountains.

Fagus pashanica can also be found in Bazhong, covering an area of more than 70 square kilometers. The tree grows mainly in Guangwushan-Nuoshuihe Geopark and the Mt. Guangwu Scenic Area. Fagus pashanica reflects the time-honored history of Bazhong and the diligence, braveness and perseverance of Bazhong's people.

Azaleas can be widely found in Bazhong, especially in the Guangwu Mountain Scenic Area.

Bazhong is also home to various kinds of precious orchids. Orchids symbolize nobleness and an unswerving spirit, representing the perseverance of people living on Bashan Mountain.