District's best efforts go on show at 10th China Flower Expo
Jiading florists, horticulturists and flower enterprises present their best work at the 10th China Flower Expo unveiled in Chongming Island in May. The event, which started in 1987, is held every four years and is the largest flower exhibition in the country. This year it will last until July 2. Jiading District is promoting its lotuses, wisteria – both cultivated locally – and other virtual-reality products during the expo.
Guyi's lotuses in full bloom
Plenty of lotuses are already in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai. Visitors can see many lotus and water lily species from small to super large, some of which are unique in Shanghai or award winners in international competitions, but all of them selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden.
"They echo with other flowers and make a beautiful picture," said a visitor surnamed Shen.
"When we designed the lotus layout for the flower expo, we planted these lotuses in different phases and areas. For example, the kinds that bloom earlier in the season were planted earlier too," said Liu Amei, a worker at Guyi Garden.
Some of the plants are being grown in the pots and some directly in a pond to form different landscaping effects.
It's a long way to deliver these plants from Jiading to Chongming, where the expo is held, so protective measures were in place to prevent damage to the seedlings on the road.
"They were placed into the water as soon as they arrived at the expo site in case they might suffer from dehydration," Liu said.
To ensure the display is as splendid as possible, work kicked off almost a year ago.
Back then, the team wasn't sure if they could give the lotus display the intended effect. They visited the site a number of times before finally deciding on the varieties that would prove suitable.
Normally, lotuses will bloom in the latter half of June, which is later than the initial opening period of the expo, so the team spent extra effort in determining the species that bloom relatively earlier.
After that, they moved the selected seedlings into a greenhouse for close monitoring of temperature, humidity and sunlight to make sure that they would bloom at the proper time.
"It's a test for the plants to bloom for 40 days, so we provide replacements in case they don't last that long in the flower expo," Liu said.
"It's an honor to be a part of the team. The flowers are Jiading's warm greetings to the guests who come to appreciate them."
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Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Lotuses selected and grown by the florists at Guyi Garden are in full bloom in the Shanghai Garden at the 10th China Flower Expo in Shanghai.
Yu Junli / Ti Gong
Wisteria corridor a lasting legacy
The wisteria corridor is a famous site in Jiading every spring. And this experience has been replicated in the flower expo as well.
A 1,000-meter wisteria corridor has been built in the southern part of the park. Though it's not the season for the plant to bloom, the vine invites people to imagine the scene and encourages them to visit when it is the right season in the district.
Cultivated by a Jiading gardening company, the corridor is now the longest in the Yangtze River Delta, planted with 345 wisteria trees, said horticulturist Wang Lin.
The team began the work 600 days ago before the opening of the event, and they picked the site for planting after testing the soil and taking into consideration that the plants prefer sunlight.
The wisteria in the park are a hybrid of 16 Japanese species and will grow in great intensity when they bloom, in colors of pink, purple and white. The corridor will remain after the flower expo is over and the vine will keep growing for future visitors.
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Yu Junli / Ti Gong
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Yu Junli / Ti Gong -
Yu Junli / Ti Gong
Interaction with sound and light
Besides the actual plants, an LED globe with a 3D visual effect near the expo's main entrance has been made by Jiading-based company Linso LED.
The image is created by 2 million mini light beads on the surface, which will change along with music and rhythm. The technique allows the image or the video to be played in all directions.
Peony from China, lilies from Chile, roses from the UK and daisies from Italy are among the main characters on the screen.
"The interactive globe stands for our Earth," said Luo Fei, the project director.
Through sound and light, it showcases the process of a flower's life cycle from breaking above ground as a seed to full blossom.
Visitors can also touch part of the globe surface to interact with it. As the music sounds, fireworks on the screen will light up the space.
This is not the only media product the company provides at the expo.
The multi-media screen in the park is also its product. It spares the step of assembling and disassembling, and the information can be updated efficiently. The other displays within the exhibition halls, also the company's products, can adapt their brightness automatically based on indoor lighting conditions.
