Beijing Expo 2019 Opens Arms to Over 100 World Tourism Cities

On September 8, the 2018 World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit kicked off in Qingdao, at which Beijing Expo 2019 was thrust into the spotlight. The organizer of the summit, WTFC, has 136 member cities including Beijing, Shanghai, London, Paris, Washington D.C., Dubai and Amsterdam, as well as 69 member organizations. Its members come from 67 countries and regions in five continents around the world. Those tourism cities are not only sources of international tourists, but also destinations for travelers globally. So far, Beijing Expo 2019 has transited from a period of engineering construction and soliciting international exhibitors to a stage of exhibition arrangement and soliciting international tourists. Taking the WTCF Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit as an opportunity, Beijing Expo 2019 gave full use to the platform for international tourism exchange and cooperation, in a bid to introduce and promote itself to over 100 World Tourism Cities. This move was crucial to further expanding the international influence and brand reputation of Beijing Expo 2019. During the summit, the delegation of Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau (BIHECB) conducted face-to-face communication with representatives from those tourism cities such as Seoul, Helsinki, Athens, Berlin, Phnom Penh and Lima.

Ye Dahua, deputy director of Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau, introduces and promotes Beijing Expo 2019 at the 2018 WTCF Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit

“The 2018 WTCF Qingdao Fragrant Hills Tourism Summit is a milestone event in the international tourism circle, and plays a vital role in promoting cooperation between global tourism cities and institutions and accelerating the prosperity and development of world tourism,” said BIHECB Deputy Director Ye Dahua. “Beijing Expo 2019 is an A1-class international horticultural expo dedicated to provide an open platform for exchange and dialogue between different countries and international organizations. It’ll present a massive garden with blooming flowers for visitors from every corner of the world and provide a stage demonstrating colorful cultures for global tourists. In the future, the Park of Beijing Expo 2019 will develop alongside nearly tourist attractions such as the Badaling Great Wall, Beijing Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park, competition venues of Beijing Winter Olympics, Longqing Valley, and Four Seasons Flower Sea, offering a massive ‘garden’ for citizens to embrace nature and green and an ideal place for Chinese and foreign tourists to relax.”

Ye invited people from all countries to visit Beijing in the spring of 2019 to enjoy the horticultural expo at the foot of the Great Wall.

Ye Dahua, deputy director of Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau, reports the promotion work of Beijing Expo 2019 to Wang Ning, vice mayor of Beijing

At the promotion event of Beijing Expo 2019 on the sideline of the summit, franchised souvenirs of the Expo such as emblems, mascots Xiaomengya (literally, “Little Cute Sprout”) and Xiaomenghua (literally, “Little Cute Flower”) and badge sets, as well as creative products such as the planning blueprint scroll “Impression on Expo Park,” aroused great interest from guests from both home and abroad.

Participants at the summit praised that Beijing Expo 2019 would enable visitors to enjoy various species of blooming flowers, experience the harmonious coexistence between architecture and nature and admire the beautiful natural scenery combining mountains and rivers while feeling the magnificence of the Great Wall, a World Cultural Heritage site. Such colorful sensual enjoyment will definitely be impressive. They believe that Beijing Expo 2019 will be a wonderful horticultural pageant admired by people around the world.

Beijing Expo 2019 to Offer an Open Platform for International Exchange

Beijing Expo 2019 will be held in Yanqing District, Beijing, from April 29 to October 7 under the theme “Live Green, Live Better.” The Expo Park is about 10 kilometers away from the Great Wall, a World Cultural Heritage site, and about 15 kilometers away from the venues for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. It is estimated that the Expo will receive 16 million visitors. In 2016, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang signed an official invitation, which was sent worldwide via the diplomatic channel. To date, more than 80 countries including Germany, Britain, Holland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, India and South Africa, as well as over 20 international organizations including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the World Tourism Cities Federation, have confirmed in written form that they will participate in the Expo.

A representative  of Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau talks with Maria PAP, a representative of Budapest, a World Tourism City

Beijing Expo 2019 will be an international horticultural pageant dedicated to create an internationalized, open platform for various countries and international organizations to display themselves and communicate and trade with each other. As a platform for exhibition, it will provide opportunities for international exhibitors to display the quintessence of their respective horticulture and culture; As a platform for communication, it will offer a stage for international exhibitors to hold activities such as National Day, special culture exhibitions, and professional forums, thus promoting international exchange, interaction and cooperation in the field of horticulture; As a platform for transaction, it will enable international exhibitors to display brand images through participating in exhibitions and holding business talks, obtain more chances for business cooperation, and expand their market space.

A representative  of Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau talks with Laura Aalto, a representative of Helsinki, a World Tourism City

Beijing Expo 2019 to Be a Massive Garden with Blooming Flowers

Based on the terrains of local mountains, rivers, forests and fields, Beijing Expo 2019 will be comprised of nearly 100 gardens in various styles and forms including the China Garden, international gardens, gardens designed by foreign architects, children’s garden, herbal garden, garden of vegetables, garden of fruits, and enterprises’ gardens. All of these compose a massive garden with blooming flowers. Along the three-kilometer Round Lake South Road, various species of flowering crabapples are planted, forming a unique crabapple boulevard that runs through the entire Expo Park; The Horticultural Life Experience Belt features Asiatic elms, bushes and various species of lilacs and demonstrates the theme of “Summer Flowers along the Silk Road”; The South Road in Expo Park boasts captivating scenery in three seasons; Exhibition zones including the axis of Expo Park and Tiantian Hill feature seasonal flowers and flowering plants and perennial plants which bloom in all seasons except for winter; Exhibition halls and major itineraries are surrounded by meadows, so that everywhere will be green during the Expo. The Expo Park naturally integrates elements such as mountains, rivers, forests, fields and flowers, composing a poetic landscape painting and an amazing Xanadu.

Staff of Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau introduces Beijing Expo 2019 to foreign participants at the summit

Beijing Expo 2019 to Create an Attractive Stage of Colorful Cultures

A variety of tourism and cultural events will be held during Beijing Expo 2019. Its opening ceremony will combine technology and culture to demonstrate the world’s profound horticulture and the harmonious development of man and nature.

National Days and Days of Honor will present an open, inclusive international exchange platform for exhibitors to fully display their respective horticultural achievements and promote their respective regional cultures.

The China Pavilion Day aims to showcase traditional Chinese culture, where visitors will experience the profound, elegant culture of the Chinese nation.

Days for Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions will feature various cultural activities with local flavor, offering visitors a chance to experience colorful ethnic customs and cultures of China.

Parade floats will be decorated with cut flowers, perennial flowers and green plants, with “each float telling a story and ten composing a long chapter,” thus adding the warm atmosphere to the Expo.

As the host of the Expo, Yanqing District will showcase the charm of traditional Chinese culture to the world. During the Expo, various specialized forums including the Green City Forum, Scientific and Technological Application Forum, Tourism and Business Forum, and Sustainable Development Forum.

The China Garden will showcase horticultural achievements of 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. All of them present their respective rocks, flowers, trees and water scenery to exhibit the enchanting landscapes of China and create one and another name cards of tourism; International gardens are themed on “openness, inclusiveness, integration and blooming,” and the design theme of the Axis of Expo Park “Butterflies in Love with Flowers” conforms to the “Flower Sea and Flower Umbrella” theme of the International Pavilion and the “Blooming Flowers and Dancing Butterflies” of the Performance Square. They will showcase rare flower species and various horticultures from more than 70 countries; The gardens designed by foreign architects include five top-notch gardens with distinctive styles, each of which is designed by an architect from Britain, Denmark, Holland, Japan and the United States, respectively.

The Expo Park will provide convenient supporting facilities including catering, accommodation, transportation, shopping, and travel, and create a comfortable, agreeable sightseeing environment. The Expo Village and Horticultural Town will provide functions such as hostelling, art exhibition, commerce and holiday. Moreover, a flower supermarket, tourist service centers and food stalls will be built in the Expo Park.

Beijing Expo 2019 is expected to further facilitate international cultural exchange and horticultural cooperation, boost the development of tourism in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, deepen mutual understanding and trust between China and other countries, and become an important platform to showcase China’s horticulture to people from around the world.