CLARKSVILLE, Tenn (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The International Avenue of Flags at McGregor park will soon add another flag to its number. At a meeting on September 24, The City of Clarksville Finance Committee approved a $2,090 donation from the Clarksville Chinese Club for the addition of China’s national flag to the display.

According to the memorandum of understanding approved by the committee, the donation will be used to purchase a 30′ high flagpole, a concrete base and a flag. Once installed, the City will take responsibility for maintaining the pole and replacing the flag as needed.

The idea to add the flag was two years in the making. Ji Ma, a doctoral student currently studying at Austin Peay and a member of the Clarksville Chinese Club, oversaw fundraising for the project with the aid of Bill Graham, visitation pastor at First Baptist Church.

The project is expected to be completed within 30 to 60 days, with the flag being raised before the end of the year.

“I see about 25 countries in the flags up there,” said Ma. “We have a lot of Chinese people living in Clarksville right now. We need the flag to represent the diversity of the city and the community”

Clarksville has built relationships with China in regards to business, and APSU’s Eriksson College of Education has spent the last two years developing a partnership with the Austin International Preschool and Kindergarten in Beijing. Ma went on to add that, when representatives of these partnerships have visited Clarksville’s River Walk, some have noted the absence of the Chinese flag.

The International Avenue of Flags was donated to the City of Clarksville by the Clarksville Rotary Club in 1992-1993. The flags highlight Clarksville’s diverse culture by recognizing community members’ countries of origin.

As the years have passed, civic groups have requested additional flags be added. It is the responsibility of those groups to pay for the pole and installation.

The Clarksville Chinese Club is a relatively new group, but already has approximately 65 members. To learn more about them, visit them on Facebook.