Imagine walking in a garden, surrounded by flowers in bloom and caressed by the fresh summer breeze, how does it sound? You can feel this way visiting the Ninth China International Garden Expo held in Fengtai district (southwest of Beijing); it officially started on Saturday, May 18 and will last for six months until November.
The size of the garden (513 hectares) is almost double that of the Summer Palace, including a 267-hectare public exhibition area, with 128 gardens from China and abroad, and the picturesque Garden Expo Lake of 246 hectares. There are garden designs from 69 Chinese cities and 29 countries will be represented.
The International Garden Expo is held once every two years and it’s jointly hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Municipal People’s Government. It represents China’s most prominent event in the garden and flora industry.
The Garden Expo combines many Chinese elements common to classic Chinese parks with features typical of Western gardens in old and modern times. CPC Beijing Committee Secretary Liu Qi affirms that the park reflects the essence of Chinese culture and displays the remarkable features of Beijing, and continues:
“It should present the profound connotation of Chinese culture via modern means, making the landscapes in the park in harmony with cultural background and surrounding environment. It should also focus on the details, aiming to construct the park into a classic work.”
The Garden Expo also wants to promote the protection of the environment and the use of ecological restoration; the Expo’s philosophy is "transforming the foul and rotten into the beautiful.” The Garden Expo itself is built on the site of a former construction-waste landfill, which was turned into beautiful gardens thanks to modern ecological restoration techniques.
Admission to the Expo is RMB 100, with free entrance for children less than 1.2 m tall, and is RMB 70 for elderly, children and students.
For more information visit the Garden Expo Website
Photo by Wikimedia Commons courtesy of Longwood Gardens
