CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- “It is a colour of the soul, I should say... If I loved you, I’d give you a ceremony hotter than summer...” On May 20, a special declaration of love was made at Southwest University. The object of the declaration was jacaranda trees.

That day was “May 20”, which coincided with the graduation season. Next to the 4th Sports Field of Southwest University, three jacaranda trees about 50 years old are in full bloom. It has almost become the first choice for graduates of the school to take their graduation photos.

Jacaranda flowers are purple-blue, elegant and beautiful, romantic and slightly melancholic, which fits the graduates’ sentimental sentiment towards youth and longing for the future. Therefore, it is also called “graduation flower” by the teachers and students of Southwest University.

The heart-shaped pattern surrounded by jacaranda petals, the jacaranda paintings by famous painters, the jacaranda photographs taken by teachers and students themselves... Against the backdrop of these elements, the “jacaranda archiving ceremony” was held, Southwest University Archives issued “ID Cards” to the entire jacaranda, marking the official establishment of 100 jacaranda trees in the school.

According to Zheng Jinsong, Deputy Director of the archives of Southwest University, according to incomplete statistics, there are about 120 jacaranda trees in the university, distributed all over the campus. In March, the Southwest University Archives commissioned several graduate students in the Ecology Department of the university’s College of Life Sciences to begin a professional census and age the jacaranda trees.

After screening, the total number of jacaranda trees is 100. The first jacaranda tree planted in the school was after the 8th building (planted in about 1950). The largest concentration of jacaranda trees was located along the No. 2 Gate to Lanyuan Hotel (21 trees). The best place to view the jacaranda is the 4th Playground, near Chongde Lake...