Adelaide - Qingdao Rose Garden
Veale Park / Walyu Yarta (Park 21)
The Adelaide-Qingdao Rose Garden celebrates the relationship between eh City of Adelaide in Australia and the City of Qingdao in People's Republic of China. Both cities entered into a Friendly City agreement in 2001 and a Sister City agreement in 2014. Under these agreements, bonds of friendship between both communities have flourished and cooperation in the fields of economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges have promoted common prosperity and development.
The statue Song of the Wind which forms the centrepiece of the Adelaide-Qingdao Rose Garden, was generously donated by Qingdao Municipal People's Government. The original version of this sculpture stands in the Little Qingdao Park in the City of Qingdao. The young girl, holding an ancient Chinese harp - Konghou, plays the symphony of the sea and the city. The two statues echo each other across the seas, bonding the friendship between Qingdao and Adelaide.
Red roses are significant in Chinese culture as a symbol of life and celebration. The City of Qingdao rose was bred and donated by George Thomson, a renowned South Australian rose hybridist. This specially created red rose is a fitting symbol of the warm and sincere friendship between both cities.