Though ten years have passed, the Expo Garden, which has become a scenic spot with a great deal of unusual flowers and plantss, still blossoms and brings big profit to the Kunming's tourism industry.
Scenery inside the garden [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
Kunming, capital city of Yunnan Province, is where the high-profile international horticulture Expo was held in 1999. Though ten years have passed, the Expo Garden, which has become a scenic spot with a great deal of unusual flowers and plantss, still blossoms and brings big profit to the city's tourism industry.
With the theme of 'Man and Nature Marching into the 21st Century', the Expo was a specialized international exposition rated A1. The Expo was to promote economic, cultural, scientific and technological exchange and development in the field of horticulture. The mascot of the Expo, 'Ling Ling', is a Dian golden monkey, a rare animal native to China. It can be found all around the Expo Garden, welcoming guests with flowers. Tang Houyan, a tourist guide in the garden, explains the deeper meaning of the monkey.
"It is called 'Intelligence' in English because people believe it breeds intelligence. Moreover, it suggests Yunnan is a birth place of creative minds and gifted individuals."
The Expo Garden is a first-class garden with typical Chinese blossoms and architecture. In the garden there are five large exhibition halls: China Hall, the Man and Nature Hall, the Green House, the Science and Technology Hall and the International Hall. There are also six themed gardens: the Tree Garden, the Tea Garden, the Bonsai Garden, the Medicinal Herb Garden, the Bamboo Garden, and the Vegetable and Fruit Garden. The three outdoor exhibition areas include the International Outdoor Exhibition Area, the Domestic Outdoor Exhibition Area and the Exhibition Area for Enterprises. While there are two large squares in the Century Plaza and the Performance Plaza.
Mascot of the Expo, 'Ling Ling' [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
According to statistics, the beautiful scenery here attracts around 80% of Kunming's newly-weds to shoot their wedding photos and the garden receives around 2000 visitors per day. Now the garden has become one of the top tourist destinations in Yunnan and still proves to be very profitable.
Tang Houyan tells us more:
"The Expo drives tourism in Yunnan. Tourists who visit the Expo are likely to visit its neighboring cities such as Dali and Lijiang. Moreover, it helped the municipal construction of Yunnan ten years ahead of time. It also provided job opportunities to people like me."
Following the Expo, Kunming maintained the Expo Garden in its original form. While 10 years have passed, the garden still welcomes thousands of visitors every day and the Expo Company is now a listed corporation on China's stock market. Zhang Bibo, general manager of the company, says they are making efforts to create an Expo brand.
"After the Expo, we redeveloped the service facilities in the garden to continue to keep the park open to visitors. We kept the original look of the garden. Meanwhile, we added some interactive activities for tourists, thus making it a comprehensive entertainment place for them. We are trying to make the Expo Garden become a brand which will attract more people."
24-year-old Shanxi resident Jiang Xinyan is fascinated by the reputation of the Garden she visited with her boyfriend during the May Day holiday. She says she is amazed by its beautiful scenery.
"I am surprised and excited to see so many real flowers in this garden because I rarely see them in my hometown. I am also amazed by its originality, for example, the China Hall and the International Hall are novel and imaginative buildings."
A flower ship stands inside the entrance to the garden, which was presented by the Hong Kong government. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
Scenery inside the garden [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
The entrance to the Expo Garden [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
Scenery inside the garden [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]
