Flowers decorate the city as holiday nears
The floral display at People's Square.
The city has been spruced up with flowers in celebration of the National Day holiday and Mid-Autumn Festival, Shanghai's greenery authorities said on Tuesday.
Floral displays have been created at People's Square, the Bund and Lujiazui, as well as eight key areas including Jing'an Temple and Xujiahui, adding a splash of color to the city.
Floral displays also line 13 key streets including Huaihai Road and Yan'an Road and along the Huangpu River, Suzhou Creek and the city's elevated roads, the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau said.
In total, there will be around 180,000 square meters of flowers in the city during the holiday. There will be 68 greenery landscapes across the city and about 12.39 million pots of flowers, according to the bureau.
The People's Square display will be illuminated at night.
Flower varieties will be more diverse during holiday with flowers such as sunflowers in addition to traditional scarlet saga and begonia, the bureau said.
They brighten the landscape and embody the expectation for a bright future, it said.
At People's Square, a floral display features a flying phoenix. Covering about 900 square meters, it is 10 meters high and will be illuminated at night.
“The phoenix from Chinese mythology symbolizes auspice and harmony, royalty and peace, and it is an important element in Chinese culture," said Wei Zhongxin, the designer.
"We mainly use garden balsam and petunia as their colors are auspicious, creating a festive atmosphere," said Wei.
The flower pattern required careful work, he said.
"We will check and make adjustments to the flowers daily and will replace them in mid and late October before the China International Import Expo," said Wei.
A couple takes a photograph with the People's Square floral display in the background.
