The best of both worlds melt into one today when Bohol and the Chinese province of Jiangxi mark their 5 th Friendship Day celebration that offers diversities on the pedestal of deeper understanding and more meaningful cooperation. In heart and soul, Boholanos around the world join the commemoration that transcends the differences in race, culture and status, with Bohol the very central venue of this year's remembering. Gov. Edgar Chatto and Vice Gov. Concepcion Lim of Bohol and Jiangxi Provincial Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office Director-General Lin Xingfu will lead the formal commemorative rites at Bohol Tropics in this provincial capital of Tagbilaran City tonight. Lim, Bohol 's first woman vice governor, and the governor's wife herself, Bohol First Lady Pureza Veloso-Chatto, are of Chinese descent.

Bilateral talks on this commemoration are expected to highlight tourism, investments, agriculture, education, industry, technology, and human resource development, among others. Xingfu, who arrived here yesterday, officially represents Gov. Wu Xinxiong and the Jiangxi province, which on Friday sent an advance party led by Heidi Zhu, deputy director-general of the World Famous Mountains Association (WFMA) and director-general of the Mt. Lushan World Heritage Office. Bohol and Jiangxi at the same time renews today the sisterhood pact---friendly-mountain covenant---between their respective magnificent earth forms, the wondrous Chocolate Hills and mystic Mt. Lushan. The Chocolate Hills which baffle scientists and Mt. Lushan which is a world heritage-world cultural landscape are both charter members of the WFMA.

The Chinese group also includes Jiangxi Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Director Gu Jianhong, Nanchang Housing and Real Estate Administration Director Liu Fenglin, and Administration Committee of Nanchang Economic and Technological Development Zone Vice Director Mei Maofa; and Zhao Jing who is a member of the Jiangxi Provincial Association of Overseas Exchange and vice general manager of Jiangxi Jucheng Development Co., Ltd. Chatto has also sought the honored presence of Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao, who may send in his lieu Chinese Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Bai Tian. Ambassador Carlos Chan, the special Philippine envoy to China and a solvent patron of Bohol 's eco-cultural tourism enhancement, is represented by Jameson Ong. Chan was instrumental to the forging of the Bohol-Jiangxi bond in 2006 during the governorship of now Rep. Erico Aumentado, Chatto said.

The Jiangxi governor was one of the local leaders in foreign countries who formally congratulated last year Chatto's victory by a vote margin unprecedented in the history of Bohol 's gubernatorial polls. In the results of the latest province-wide survey, Chatto's exercise of people's mandate netted for him a satisfaction rating of 77%, reputed to be the highest ever garnered by a Bohol governor for which he so thanked the Boholanos. The Jiangxi delegation paid a courtesy call on Chatto and other provincial officials at the provincial capitol last night before their welcome dinner by famous night cruise on the Loboc river. Jiangxi happens to be also known by its short name “Gan,” which is attributed to its great Gan river The internationally-acclaimed Loboc Youth Ambassadors Band entertained the guests at the Children's Palace. Mayor Leon Calipusan and fellow town heads joined the provincial leaders in the Loboc affairs with the guests.

MORE SOLID TIES

Bohol and Jiangxi officials will ink the renewal of the friendly-province and friendly-mountain accords to highlight tonight's commemorative ceremony at Bohol Tropics. The Bohol-Jiangxi sisterhood pursues equality and mutual benefits, inspiring both sides to do exchanges and cooperation on economy, trade, agriculture, tourism, education, culture and the arts, public health and other fields and concerns. Chatto has invited Bohol 's three congressmen, Reps. Rene Relampagos, Aumentado and Arthur Yap, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan which is the provincial legislature led by the vice governor, Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry and leaders of the local Chinese community to the commemorative rites. With some 1.3 million settlers, Bohol is an “infant” to Jiangxi in population, the Chinese province having 44.40 million people as of 2009 estimate. But they can share useful farm ways---and global climate change mitigations to sustain agriculture---because while Bohol is regarded as the rice bowl in Central Visayas, a Philippine region, Jiangxi is the main rice-raising province in China. The host and guest parties are further slated to deal on technical cooperation on different endeavors, and exchange scholarships in culture and the arts and languages for faculty and students. The Jiangxi delegation will start leaving for China tomorrow until Wednesday.

FROM MT. LUSHAN TO CHOCO HILLS

Today, the guests from Jiangxi will be toured to the Blood Compact monument depicting the treaty forged in friendly blood between native chieftain Datu Sikatuna and Spanish conqueror Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, zip line and “squatter” tarsier in Loboc, man-made forest in Bilar and, ultimately, Chocolate Hills in Carmen. Chatto and the Chinese ambassador unveiled the Bohol marker of the World Famous Mountains Association at the Chocolate Hills Complex in December last year. The event sentimentalized the Boholanos' regard for the Chinese for including the hills among the founding members of the WFMA, which main base is found in the resort area of Mt. Lushan in Jiangxi . On invitation, Chatto and his wife attended the 2 nd WFMA Conference on Mt. Lushan last October.

Their group included Provincial Administrator Alfonso Damalerio II, Provincial Engr. Rosalinda Yu, Bohol Employment and Placement Office head Romulo Tagaan and Carmen Mayor Conchita Toribio-Delos Reyes. In that global expo, thousands of Chocolate Hills postage stamps were exhibited and auctioned as collector's items. Bohol, together with Jiangxi for Mt. Lushan , is a signatory to the WFMA Charter originally written in English and Chinese. The Chocolate Hills have been declared a Philippine national geological monument while Mt. Lushan is a national geopark in China. The famous Jiangxi mountain resort area is reputed to be the birthplace of Taoism, a great Chinese faith and moral philosophy, explaining why Mt. Lushan is also listed as a world cultural landscape. The region has many temples, cave complexes, mountains and villages. It is considered by many to be the best-kept secret of Jiangxi tourism. Science has repeatedly attempted to explain how Bohol's mystifying Chocolate Hills have come to being, but tourists from across the planet would say they most know why God made so many of them. (Ven rebo Arigo)