One-year Countdown to B​eijing Expo 2019

The celebrations for one-year countdown to Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 were held on April 28 at Badaling International Convention and Exhibition Center Plaza in Yanqing District – which plays host to Beijing Expo 2019. The event under the theme of “Flowers Blooming in the New Era” aims to showcase the new achievements of ecological progress of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. With the construction of major venues for Beijing Expo 2019, the construction of provincial and municipal parks at the Expo, the maiden flight of painted “Colorful Expo” Air China airplane under the theme of the Expo, the unveiling of the one-year countdown display for the Expo, and the launch of the flagship store of Expo licensed merchandise on JD.COM, the events for one-year countdown to Beijing Expo 2019 reach a climax. The preparatory work for the Expo enters a critical stage, and important results of the stage have been achieved.

The filming of China’s first documentary on the theme of plants progresses swimmingly

The opening ceremony of Chinese Plants that Changed the World – China’s first plant-themed documentary was hosted a year ago, on the eve of the two-year countdown to Beijing Expo 2019. The documentary aims to showcase the story of Chinese horticulture, spread excellent traditional culture, and present the beauty of Chinese plants. In a year, director Li Chengcai and his documentary production team traversed the uninhabited areas in Shennongjia, Shangri-La, Xishuangbanna, and snow-covered plateaus, traveled to nearly 20 provinces and cities in China, and visited such countries as New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany. After nearly 300 days of filming, ten filming teams have gleaned a wealth of material by overcoming many hardships and obstacles – as a tribute to Chinese plants.

Information on Beijing Expo 2019 Volunteers Released

Beijing Expo 2019 released the information on volunteers. The 162-day Beijing Expo 2019 is inseparable from the participation and service from numerous volunteers. Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau is working with Beijing Youth League and Beijing Volunteer Service Federation and others to prepare recruitment, training, and safeguards and so on regarding volunteers. It will also officially launch the open recruitment of volunteers for the Expo in the second half of this year. In addition to general-purpose volunteering such as visitor services and operation support, it will recruit professional volunteers for language translation, media reception, security and transportation, and services for the disabled, etc. The committee sends an invitation to the whole society to recruit volunteers for building a green and beautiful tomorrow.

Air China aircraft themed on Beijing Expo soars heavenwards under the dream of greenness

On April 23, 2018, the Beijing Expo-themed color-sprayed airplane “Colorful Expo”, designed by Air China, a global partner of Beijing Expo 2019, carried hundreds of passengers and the dream of Beijing Expo for a green world into the blue skies. In the same day, brilliant theme events were held on the round-trip flight between Beijing and Chongqing, as passengers shared the dream of “Live Green, Live Better”. It is understood that Air China will launch three Beijing Expo-themed aircraft. In addition to the B737-800 model “Colorful Expo” that debuted on the day, there is the “Flowering Heyday” of the same model and one Airbus A350 wide-body “Colorful Expo”. The other theme aircraft are expected to be launched in July and October to send a call for beauty and greenness to the world.

The flagship store of Expo licensed merchandise on JD.COM officially launched

In recent years, the development of licensed merchandise has always been an indispensable part of international events. Last year, 300 types of Beijing Expo 2019 licensed merchandise were officially unveiled. The five retail stores of licensed merchandise in Gongmei Building in Wangfujing, Bird’s Nest Beijing Gift Shop, Xidan Book Building, Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area and Yanqing City are open for business. At the event today, the flagship store of Expo licensed merchandise on JD.COM was officially launched, and the flagship store of Beijing Expo 2019 licensed merchandise on Tmall will also be launched before June 1, signifying the achievements of market development for Beijing Expo 2019. The public can conveniently purchase nearly 500 types of licensed merchandise in ten categories such as handicrafts, emblems, stationery, household items, clothing and accessories, philatelic items, commemorative coins, precious metals, horticultural products, and mascot cultural derivatives via the official flagship stores to cherish the precious memory of the Expo forever.

Participant attraction at home and abroad has yielded fruitful results

At the event, the audience can enjoy the essential design programs of outdoor exhibition parks by the provinces and cities via the large screen. At present, 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have basically finalized the design plans for the parks. Parks by Yunnan, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Jilin, Tibet, Ningxia, and Shandong have already commenced construction; other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities will also begin construction of the parks. The programs for the foreign designers’ creative exhibition parks for the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States, and Japan have been examined and approved. 65 well-known domestic and foreign colleges and universities, professional associations, and enterprises have confirmed their participation in the Expo. The target attracting 100 unofficial participants was completed. Equally gratifying is that the target of attracting 100 official participants has been basically reached. At present, 93 countries and international organizations have confirmed in writing their participation in Beijing Expo 2019. 15 countries and international organizations have made clear their participation and are in the process of performing formalities. The 15 countries of the Caribbean Community, the UN agencies in China and others have reached preliminary intention on their joint participation. The countries and international organizations are expected to commence construction by the end of May.

Expo Song Injects More “Sound” Vitality into Beijing Expo 2019

From October 2015 to April 2016, Beijing Expo 2019 solicited the Expo songs from the whole society. Upwards of 3,000 songwriters nationwide participated and produced 2,551 works. 10 best songs, 10 excellent songs and 5 lyrics were finally selected from these works. These are uploaded to many mainstream music broadcasting platforms, and broadcasted on such radio stations as Beijing Music Radio, China Campus Radio, etc. Tuneful songs will bring more “sound” life to the Beijing Expo 2019.

Construction of park venues, infrastructure and public landscape are steadily progressing

According to reports, the construction of venues, infrastructure and public landscapes in the Expo is progressing steadily. The main structures of core buildings such as China Pavilion, the International Pavilion, and the Living Experience Hall have been capped. The conditions for construction World Horticultural Exhibition Area and the Chinese Horticultural Exhibition Area are right for construction. The construction of infrastructure and peripheral facilities such as water supply and drainage, and electricity are advancing steadily as planned. The overall framework of public landscape in the park has basically taken shape. The installation of the first “flower umbrella” for the International Pavilion began on April 2, 2018, and 23 umbrellas have been successfully installed by now. The flower umbrella sea, which consists of 94 “flower umbrellas”, will bloom in the Beijing Expo 2019.

One-year countdown display is unveiled and the preparations for Beijing Expo 2019 enters the critical stage

At the event, the leaders unveiled the one-year countdown display for Beijing Expo 2019, a sign that preparations for Beijing Expo 2019 enter the most crucial stage.

It is understood that in 2018, the organizing committee will gradually complete the formation of the overall ticketing policy and the deployment of first-stage ticketing system, open the pre-sales and ticketing hotline for individuals, formulate volunteer recruitment plans and training programs, formally launch the volunteer recruitment, and complete the formulation of programs for transportation guarantee, the overall plan for security, and the overall plan for operations management for Beijing Expo 2019. Before the end of October this year, the park’s public landscape layout and infrastructure construction will be fully completed except the arrangement of seasonal flowers. The main venues – four venues and one center – will all be completed. The construction of the Smart Expo will be started in all respects and the hardware construction will be basically completed. This makes full preparations for the smooth completion of Beijing Expo 2019. The host district – Yanqing District – will serve the grand event by making full use of the district-level resources and accelerate the development of modern horticulture industry. All parties in the district reverse the schedules and work according to the preset programs. All preparations peripheral to the park progress smoothly. The construction of external traffic routes such as Beijing Downtown-Yanqing Expressway and Yanqing-Chongli Expressway and the surrounding roads such as Shiyuan Road is in full swing and are expected to be completed by the end of the year. 80% of greening projects of the park and its surroundings have been completed. Landscape enhancement and horticultural landscape avenue projects in key areas are being implemented. The comprehensive service security system has been increasingly perfected, and the software and hardware guarantee programs for transportation, security, parking, and environment have been finalized and have entered the construction and implementation stage. The construction of the modern Horticultural Business District (HBD) is proceeding smoothly. A number of supporting projects in technology, tourism, irrigation and greening will be implemented in succession, which will greatly increase the carrying capacity of the HBD and meet the functional requirements of production, scientific research and tourism.