Magnolia festival seeking the 'Flavor of Shanghai'

Shanghai upholds magnolia, the flower that represents the city.

As part of the first Shanghai Magnolia Culture Festival, a "Shanghai Flavor" voting activity was launched on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall on Wednesday, along with the release of a city-wide fragrance map, to promote the flower to residents and tourists.

From now until October 19, the city will have more than 20 magnolia fragrance spots for people to vote for their favorite "Flavor of Shanghai."

The six magnolia fragrances presented for selection were specially developed by expert teams from Shanghai's renowned scientific research institutions, universities, and leading enterprises, taking two years of sampling, analysis, and research to replicate the aroma of fresh magnolia flowers.

The research team from the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, revealed that distillation extraction of magnolia flowers found that the magnolia fragrance includes around 40 components, including myrcene and monoterpene compounds, presenting a faint grassy fragrance, some of which also have antibacterial properties.

"The fragrance of magnolia is not flamboyant and strong, but a gentle, delicate, and enduring floral fragrance," said Yan Min, fragrance and flavor development director of Shanghai Jahwa.

"The floral scent of magnolia can not only make people feel fresh, but also evoke emotional resonance," said Yan.

In addition to the permanent voting spots such as Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street and the Citizen's Horticultural Center with convenient transport and a large passenger flow, several mobile spots have been set up across the city, including universities, industrial parks, office buildings, business districts, rural areas, tourist attractions, residential areas, and senior homes, to increase public participation and allow them to have close contact with the city flower beyond the flowering season, according to the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau.

There are also magnolia art displays, magnolia popular science and cultural exhibitions, and promotional films of magnolia on the pedestrian mall's Century Square during the event.

At the same time, the square's fog system will switch to the single floral scent of magnolia, emitting fragrance on a regular basis, allowing the public to immerse themselves in the beauty of the city flower and appreciate the urban spirit it contains.