At the press conference of the 10th China Flower Expo held today (May 10), Liu Dongsheng, deputy director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, gave a briefing on the development of the country’s flower industry and the flower expo. Tang Zhiping, vice mayor of Shanghai, gave a briefing on the preparation and supporting measures for this year’s flower expo. Zhao Liangping, vice president of the China Flower Association, gave a briefing on the organization and participating exhibitors of the flower expo. Cai Jun, first-level inspector of the Shanghai Municipal Transportation Commission, Li Zheng, Secretary of the CPC Chongming District Committee, Shi Mingfang, chairman of Bright Food Group, and Zhang Hao, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, attended the press conference and answered questions from reporters.

I.

Under the overall coordination by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the China Flower Association, and with the active efforts and considerate services by the People’s Governments of Shanghai Municipality and Chongming District, preparation for the 10th China Flower Expo has been progressing smoothly. The construction of the expo park and the layout of the exhibition area have been basically completed, making the expo qualified for opening. According to the plan, the 10th Flower Expo will be held in Chongming District, Shanghai from May 21 to July 2, 2021.

The China Flower Expo is a national flower exposition co-sponsored by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the China Flower Association and the provincial people’s government of the host region. It is held every four years. Since 1987, nine sessions have been successfully held in Beijing, Shanghai, Shunde (Guangzhou), Wenjiang (Sichuan), Shunyi (Beijing), Qingzhou (Shandong), Changzhou (Jiangsu), and Ningxia (Yinchuan), creating a number of unique flower tourist attractions and leisure places. The flower expos had distinctive themes, diverse contents, and various event highlights. They provided forward-looking trends for new and excellent varieties of flowers, technical achievements and indoor and outdoor landscapes, promoted exchanges and cooperation in the flower industry, and led the development of the entire industry chain covering flower research and development, production, processing, packaging, logistics, and trade. They were of great significance in guiding flower consumption, promoting flower culture, accelerating the development of China’s modern flower industry, and advancing the economic and social progress of the host regions.

Shanghai is the birthplace of the Communist Party of China and an important window for China to open up to the outside world. The year 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, a milestone year for the Two Centenary Goals, and the first year of China’s 14th Five-Year Plan period. It is of special significance to hold the 10th China Flower Expo, with the theme of “Blossom with a Chinese Dream”, in this special place and this special year.

In April 2018, Chongming District in Shanghai won the right to host the 10th China Flower Expo. In the past three years, the organizers and exhibitors of the flower expo have overcome the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, stricken a balance between epidemic prevention and control and expo preparation, and done a lot of effective work to ensure orderly park construction and smooth preparation. The National Afforestation Committee and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration attached great importance to the flower expo, and worked with the Shanghai Municipal Government to enable various preparatory work for the flower expo. The China Flower Association actively coordinated and carefully arranged the work to ensure steady progress of preparation in various aspects. The Shanghai Municipal Government and Chongming District Government, in accordance with the overall planning and requirements of the flower expo, have done well in the infrastructure construction within public areas in an orderly manner, provided first-class services for exhibitors, and laid a solid foundation for the successful preparation of the flower expo. All exhibitors continued to optimize their design plans, while striving to build boutique exhibition halls and gardens.

Since the start of reform and opening up, China’s flower industry has made significant progress, and is now transforming from rapid development to high-quality development. By the end of 2020, the total flower planting area in China had reached more than 1.5 million hectares, with annual sales of more than 250 billion yuan, making China the world’s largest flower production base, an important flower consumer, as well as a key importer/exporter of flowers. The flower market is becoming more mature, the industrial chain is improving, the capacity for technological innovation is being enhanced, and the flower culture is vigorously promoted. The role of the flower industry in the construction of a beautiful China and ecological civilization has become increasingly prominent, and it has become an important pillar of the urban and rural economy in many regions. The development of the flower industry plays an important role in greening and beautifying the environment, promoting the implementation of rural revitalization strategies, increasing the incomes of urban and rural residents, improving people’s quality of life, and guiding civilized consumption and green life.

The 10th China Flower Expo is a national flower event to be held for the first time on an island, in a countryside, and in a forest. It is a session where all Chinese provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan will be represented. It will have largest number of outdoor exhibition parks, and the biggest number of Chinese and overseas cities as exhibitors. It is a flower expo that leverages flowers as a medium to spread the positive spirits of the beautiful flower industry, and promote the green development philosophy together with the revolutionary culture. It is a special event that focuses on ecological protection, while highlighting excellence, science innovation, and diversity. We believe that with the joint efforts of all parties, the 10th China Flower Expo will definitely be a beautiful and unforgettable event, contributing to the promotion of China’s ecological civilization and the construction of a beautiful China.

II.

Shanghai is following the guidelines of “ecology, innovation, thrift, integrity, and safety” in hosting the expo, and making every effort to promote various tasks in preparation for the expo. So far, venues in the expo site, seedlings in public areas, and supporting facilities in Dongping Town have been completed, together with the layout of indoor and outdoor exhibition halls and gardens. All exhibitors have been making final preparation for their displays. The teams for security, logistics, communications, emergency, city appearance, volunteers have all settled in the park. People in Chongming have been mobilized to undertake tasks in embracing the flower expo, dismantling illegal buildings, and beautifying the environment so as to welcome guests with the beautiful “Island of Flowers.”

Stress tests

The flower expo site is composed of the north park and the south park. On March 24, the south park initiated the stress test by holding the Huachao Festival. On April 10, the north park started its no-load test. On April 27, the first small load test in the north park was completed, and nearly 20,000 visitors entered the park. On May 7, the integrated stress test for south and north parks was completed, and nearly 50,000 tourists were organized to enter the park. On May 12, 15, and 16, three stress tests were carried out for the entire site to optimize and improve various operation details to ensure safe and orderly operations when the expo is formally open.

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of this year’s flower expo will be held on May 21. As the organizer, Shanghai has actively planned and prepared carefully for the ceremony, and has sent invitation letters to leaders and guests from various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. The opening ceremony will mark that the flower expo park is officially open to tourists after more than three years of meticulous preparation and construction. At that time, all guests are welcome to gather in the flower expo park for a grand flower event.

Ticket sales

Tickets for the flower expo started pre-sale on May 1, and people can purchase them through official channels such as the Suishenban app/mini-program, Shanghai Chongming app, and the WeChat public account of the 10th China Flower Expo, Meituan, Ctrip, Lvmama, as well as offline travel agencies such as Jinjiang, CYTS, Dongtai, and Shanghai CYTS. People can also call the official service hotline (400-100-0701) to buy tickets. Elderly people aged 60 and above, school students, active military personnel, recipients of special care, firefighters, and people with disabilities can enjoy preferential policies for ticket purchase.

Epidemic prevention and control

According to the overall deployment of epidemic prevention and control in the city, as of now, the COVID-19 vaccination rate for relevant personnel involved in the operation, management and service of the flower expo has reached 99.53%. The epidemic prevention and control plan will be prepared in strict accordance with the requirements amid normalized management and control, and various epidemic prevention and control measures will be implemented.

Transportation

During the flower expo, people are encouraged to travel in an environment-friendly and intensive way, and form groups to visit the expo. Seven flower expo-dedicated bus lines will be set up at the Wuzhou Avenue hub and Longyang Road hub. Ten customized passenger lines will be set up at the Hongqiao Hub and People’s Square. Two new special water-land transport lines will be added. After making ticket reservation online, visitors can follow the system to choose their travel mode, and they are encouraged to choose intensive transportation methods such as the flower expo-dedicated lines and the water-land transport lines. If visitors choose to visit the expo by car, they need to make a reservation for parking space around the park in advance. If parking is not reserved in advance, the car will not be allowed to enter the core area of the flower expo park. We hope everyone will understand and cooperate.

Accommodation

The flower expo will feature a series of night-time activities, including drone performances and float parades. Therefore, we recommend that visitors stay in Chongming overnight to discover the exclusive beauty of the expo gardens and to appreciate how the ecological island has developed over the years. As a State Global Tourism Demonstration Area, Chongming has significantly expanded its accommodation capacity in the last two years. The island’s 293 hotels, 988 B&Bs, and 26 temporary facilities provide a total of 43,000 beds that can meet travelers’ personalized demands for accommodation.

Catering service in the expo park

The expo park can host 9,000 diners simultaneously, and most of the catering services provide fast food. Visitors can taste Chinese food, such as Shanghai cuisine and Chongming specialties, and western-style fast food in places like the Huaqi Pavilion, Waterfront Tea House, and Gourmet Square in the northern service area. Food is available on the barbecue and RV camps in the southern service area. Visitors can also use temporary catering facilities, convenient stores, 18 food trucks, and automatic selling machines around the park to buy food conveniently.

Visitor service and security

In order to host a visitor-centered flower expo, we will establish 17 visitor service venues in the expo park that provide all-encompassing and efficient services, including hotlines and broadcasting services, at convenient locations. The park is equipped with 25,000 chairs for public use together with a number of shading facilities, rain shelters, and public toilets. We will deploy four medical stations, eight temporary medical observation venues, and four ambulances in the park. Intelligent security equipment will be installed in open spaces and parking areas. There will be three police helicopters and two pads for emergency use. In this way, we can guarantee visitors’ security and ensure quick emergency response with both manual deployment and smart technology.

Cultural activities

During the flower expo, we will host more than 300 cultural activities whose two major themes are flower cultivation and the Communist Party’s centenary. They will include the opening and closing ceremonies, themed activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and night-time activities. Flower associations from provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across China, participating companies from home and abroad, and sponsors will also hold their respective activities. We will also hold online activities, including live streaming, online tour, online shopping, and competition.

Image ambassadors

We have invited Mr. Liao Changyong and Miss Wu Minxia to be the image ambassadors for the flower expo. As a renowned baritone, Professor Liao is Vice Chairman of the Chinese Musicians’ Association, President of Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and singer of the expo’s theme song “Blossom with a Chinese Dream.” Miss Wu, a famous diver, is the first female Chinese athlete to win five Olympic gold medals. She has won a total of 32 medals, including 20 golds.

III.

The 10th China Flower Expo consists of north and south sections that cover a combined area of 589 hectares. The planning of the expo park attaches great importance to natural compatibility, ecological balance, and rustic charm. Designers bear in mind the theme of the expo “Blossom with a Chinese Dream” and create a flower-centered cultural atmosphere. Environmentally friendly technologies are widely adopted to build the modern Expo gardens with regional characteristics.

With one center, one axis, six pavilions, and six gardens, the flower expo aims to demonstrate the grandeur of blossoming flowers to celebrate a dynamic China. The one center refers to the expo’s core area “the Dream Garden” which takes the shape of a peony when the landscape is seen from above. Visitors will see flower seas, flower paths, flower streams, and flower valleys in this area and feel the vitality of blossoming in the age of prosperity. The one axis refers to the flower expo axis that connects the southern park, the Yingbin Square, the Century Pavilion, the Fuxing Square, the Fuxing Pavilion, and the Dongping Town. Visitors can see flower beds, flower corridors, flower bridges, and flower pillars along the axis. The six pavilions refer to the Fuxing Pavilion, the Century Pavilion, the Bamboo Pavilion, the Baihua Pavilion, the Huayi Pavilion, and the Huaqi Pavilion. The six gardens will house magnolia, plum, chrysanthemum, orchid, lotus, and bamboo respectively to promote the Chinese flower culture.

The core exhibition zone is divided into indoor and outdoor areas. The outdoor area is made up of two parts. The part on the east side will be set aside for exhibitors from all Chinese provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. The part on the west side will accommodate such exhibitors from the China Flower Association, sister cities from around the world, international designers, flower enterprises from home and abroad, vegetable companies, and sponsoring companies.

The flower expo has attracted 189 participants from Chinese provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, the China Flower Association, and relevant companies, the largest number ever in the Expo’s history. The expo features 180 gardens – 35 by provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, 10 by the China Flower Association and its affiliated organizations, 14 by sponsoring companies, 20 by flower and gardening companies, 12 by international sister cities, and 10 by international designers. There are also 30 citizen gardens, 6 specialty gardens, and 4 specialized gardens. A total of 39 candidates from the first China International Herbaceous Borders Contest will also be accessible to visitors.

Expo participants from all Chinese provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and the China Flower Association and its affiliated organizations have established 64 indoor exhibition areas to exhibit regional specialties, unique species, new species, and innovative flower-related technology and products. The indoor exhibition areas will host more than 20,000 exhibits, featuring 1,000 new flower species. Among them, Beijing contributes 72, and Shanghai 63.

The flower expo is the largest comprehensive flower event in China. The organizing and executive committees as well as all relevant departments and companies attach great importance to the preparation for the expo. By adopting the new development philosophy, we stick to the event’s theme “Blossom with a Chinese Dream” to show the essence of the flower culture in China. The flower-themed event is a vivid demonstration of China’s ecological progress and the achievements of the flower industry. We adhere to the principle of quality first, uphold the craftsmen spirit, focus on delivering a quality project, and enforce strict quality management throughout the construction of the expo park. We also stick to the scientific principle of vegetation, strictly regulate the management of tree transplanting, draw up technical regulations for vegetation, and prohibit crown reduction and excessive pruning.