Botanical Wonders
Along with garden architecture, botanical gardens are also stars of the Beijing Garden Expo. Estimates tally over 12 million trees, shrubs and flowers across 147 hectares of continuously green land. Most of the trees are water-thrifty and droughtresistant indigenous species. According to conservative calculations, such trees can absorb 15 million tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Meanwhile, ecological green corridors were meticulously constructed along roads, squares, rest areas and parking lots to cover them in dense shade, which protects tourists from the scorching summer sun.
“We planted big tracts of cherry and lilac trees and more, which will create impressive scenery with each season, giving tourists a stunning visual experience,” Qiao Xiaopeng said.
Jinxiu Valley features ecological gardening over a lowland of 140 hectares. Formerly the largest landfill for construction and urban waste in Beijing, the region is now brimming with vibrant colors. New cutting-edge technology was introduced to maintain lush vegetation in the formerly drab, lifeless land with minimal irrigation. One technology was dubbed the “smart irrigation” system. Local trees are monitored by an automated water-management system, which determines the specific water intake of each tree according to its age, species and other information. After every rainfall, a monitoring system calculates how much rain fell around the trees and how much was absorbed. The allocation of water for each tree can then be adjusted based on this data, which boosts the park’s irrigation efficiency by 50 percent.
Also, designers gave Jinxiu Valley a complete rain collection system that recycles all rainfall in the region to use for irrigation.
Online E-Tickets
The expo’s organizers signed a ticket deal with visitbeijing.com.cn, a popular travel website. Electronic tickets were declared the official form, a first for a large-scale event in China.
Visitbeijing.com.cn is running a special feature for the Beijing Garden Expo in nine languages: Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, Russian, German, Spanish and Arabic. When buying electronic tickets online, tourists can also find the latest updates about expo activities.
Seven different types of tickets are available, such as a standard day ticket for RMB 100, a designated day ticket for RMB 150, a night ticket for RMB 70. “Designated day” tickets are reserved for big holidays such as Dragon Boat Festival, Mid- Autumn Festival, National Day and high-volume dates, for a total of 16 days.
Volunteer services have proven vital to the Expo’s success: 13,000 volunteers are involved in the event, whether guiding visitors or aiding media representatives. Almost all volunteers are familiar with at least one foreign language in addition to other skills.
Visitors will also find 27 eating choices that cover Chinese fast food brands, Western fast food brands, native Chinese snack stands, beverage bars and a cafe. The eating area can seat 5,000 people at once.
Moreover, the Expo has released 700 choices of official merchandise across 11 major categories such as toys, potted plants, apparel, shoes, theme gifts and stationery. To enhance shopping convenience for visitors, 16 franchised stores have opened in the vicinity of the Garden Expo Park.
During the Expo, along with appreciating amazing scenic spots, visitors also get the chance to enjoy a rich assortment of events including parades, musical entertainment, theme weeks and days and much more.
Print
Save