Taipei International Flora Exposition
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition (2010 Flora Expo) opened on November 6, 2010 and ran until April 25, 2011 in Taipei
, Taiwan
, Republic of China
. It is a garden festival
recognized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers
(AIPH / IAHP) and is categorized as an A2B1 horticulture exposition. It was the first such internationally recognized exposition to take place in Taiwan, and the seventh of its kind to take place in Asia
. It is located near Yuanshan Station
. The Yuanshan site will re-open to the public following renovations.
, Taipei Story House
, and the Lin-An-tai Historical Home. Unlike other suburban exhibitions held in Kunming
, Hamanako, and Chang Mai, the expo was held in the city center to emphasize the development of more urban green spaces. It showcased Taipei's achievements in tourism
, catering
, gardening
, and biotechnology
.
, the Netherlands, Thailand
, Bhutan
, Hawaii
, Belau
, Hong Kong
, Japan
and more), a Fujian
-Style Garden, and a Sea of Flowers. In addition, it features more than 800 varieties of orchids, 329 million locally-developed plant varieties, and award-winning landscape and gardening designs from 22 countries. The expo is based on several major design concepts:
In anticipation of Christmas
, the park will be decorated with 70,000 poinsettias of various colors to celebrate the holidays.
Three pavilions, the "Pavilion of Dreams", "Pavilion of the Future", and "Pavilion of Angel Life", took home the top prize at the 9th Taipei Urban Landscape Awards. Many of the expo specialties (including paper-thin speakers designed by ITRI
, displayed at the Pavilion of Dreams) are commercially available as souvenir
s.
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...
. It is a garden festival
Garden festival
A garden / flora festival or exposition is a festival and exposition held to celebrate the arts of gardening, garden design, landscaping and landscape architecture. There are local garden festivals, regional garden festivals, National Garden Festivals and International Garden Festivals. The idea...
recognized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers
AIPH
The International Association of Horticultural Producers is an international organisation dedicated to promoting horticultural producers and held the international garden / flora festivals or expositions worldwide.-History:...
(AIPH / IAHP) and is categorized as an A2B1 horticulture exposition. It was the first such internationally recognized exposition to take place in Taiwan, and the seventh of its kind to take place in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It is located near Yuanshan Station
Yuanshan Station
The Taipei Metro Yuanshan Station is located between the Zhongshan and Datong districts in Taipei, Taiwan. It is a station on the Tamsui Line . There was a station of the same name on the now-defunct TRA Tamsui Line.-Station overview:...
. The Yuanshan site will re-open to the public following renovations.
Overview
The expo was organized by the Taipei City Government in partnership with the Taiwan Floriculture Development Association (TFDA). The city was chosen to host the event in April 2006. It is being held in the Yuanshan area in Taipei and sites among many of the cities artistic and cultural locations, including the Zhongshan Soccer Stadium, Taipei Children's Recreation Center, Taipei Fine Arts MuseumTaipei Fine Arts Museum
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum is a museum in Taipei, Taiwan. The museum first opened on December 24, 1983 at the former site of the United States Taiwan Defense Command . It was the first purpose built museum in Taiwan to host modern and contemporary art exhibitions...
, Taipei Story House
Taipei Story House
Taipei Story House , old name Yuanshan Mansion , is a historic house in the Zhongshan District ofTaipei, Taiwan, now open as a museum.-Overview:The house was built in 1913–14 by Chen Chao-chun, a Dadaocheng tea merchant...
, and the Lin-An-tai Historical Home. Unlike other suburban exhibitions held in Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
, Hamanako, and Chang Mai, the expo was held in the city center to emphasize the development of more urban green spaces. It showcased Taipei's achievements in tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
, gardening
Gardening
Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance; useful plants are grown for consumption , for their dyes, or for medicinal or cosmetic use...
, and biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
.
Attendance
Although there had been worries about attendance at the expo, the Taipei mayor noted that with the steady increase in attendance since opening, he was no longer worried. On December 15, 2010, the Expo welcomed its 2 millionth visitor, and on January 5, 2011, it welcomed its 3 millionth visitor. By February 5, 2011, total visitors had reached 4.18 million, with a single day record of 91,676. The popularity of the festival has affected tourist numbers at other popular tourist locations in Taiwan. The expo passed 5 million visitors on February 25, 2011, and reached another single day record of 150,000 visitors on February 27, 2011. By the time the Expo closed on April 25, 2011, over 8.9 million visitors had entered the park, surpassing the original 8 million visitor target.Areas
The expo is divided up between four major areas: Yuanshan Park, Taipei Artist Park, Xinsheng Park and Dajia Riverside Park. It has 14 pavilions and occupies an area of 91.8 hectare (0.918 km²). Each area is also covered with many outdoor gardens, including a Global Garden Area (featuring exhibits from the USA, GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, the Netherlands, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Belau
Belau
Belau is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and more), a Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
-Style Garden, and a Sea of Flowers. In addition, it features more than 800 varieties of orchids, 329 million locally-developed plant varieties, and award-winning landscape and gardening designs from 22 countries. The expo is based on several major design concepts:
- To convey the essence of gardening, science, and environmental protection technology.
- To reach the goals of reduce, reuse, and recycle.
- To combine culture and art as parts of eco-friendly living.
In anticipation of Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
, the park will be decorated with 70,000 poinsettias of various colors to celebrate the holidays.
Pavilions
Of the 14 pavilions in the expo, there are several of note:- Pavilion of Dreams: The building showcases Taiwan's cutting-edge technology in addition to flowers. A 3.5-ton artificial flower hangs from the ceiling, responding to beats in music. In an exhibition room, flat screens showcase 3D images of flowers without the need to use special glasses (using lenticular imagingLenticular lensA lenticular lens is an array of magnifying lenses, designed so that when viewed from slightly different angles, different images are magnified...
). A wall of 3-meter-tall liquid crystalLiquid crystal displayA liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
glass panels show lifelike projections of flowers in the wild. - Pavilion of Fashion: Also known as EcoARK, the building is a three-story structure built using 1.5 million plastic bottles (instead of bricks) to emphasize sustainability and creativity.
Three pavilions, the "Pavilion of Dreams", "Pavilion of the Future", and "Pavilion of Angel Life", took home the top prize at the 9th Taipei Urban Landscape Awards. Many of the expo specialties (including paper-thin speakers designed by ITRI
Industrial Technology Research Institute
The Industrial Technology Research Institute is a non-profit research institute located in Taiwan under the supervision of the Republic of China Ministry of Economic Affairs. It conducts research and development in applied technologies to advance private sector growth...
, displayed at the Pavilion of Dreams) are commercially available as souvenir
Souvenir
A souvenir , memento, keepsake or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. The term souvenir brings to mind the mass-produced kitsch that is the main commodity of souvenir and gift shops in many tourist traps around the world...
s.