Explore new horizons, establish new models. 2019 Beijing Expo is about to closing

On the morning of October 8， the organizing committee of International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing， China （hereinafter referred as Beijing Expo） held a press conference in the press conference hall of State Council Information Office of PRC． This was the last press conference of Beijing Expo before its closing， and it introduced the overall operation of the expo to the media from home and abroad．

Closing ceremony of International Horticulture Exhibition 2019 Beijing， China has been well prepared.

Premier Li Keqiang will be presented and deliver a speech

The closing ceremony of Beijing Expo will be held in the evening of October 9， 2019． His Excellency Premier LI Keqiang will attend the ceremony and deliver a speech． Delegates of participating countries and international organizations are invited． The theme of the closing ceremony is “Ode to Harvest”． It pictures Beijing Expo’s golden autumn with a scenery of harvest， and pays tribute to PRC’s glorious past， with 70 years of vigorous progress and unprecedented achievement． The ceremony is artistically designed to be a scenario gala with light and shadow of delicate gardens． The gala will carry with it a unique flavor of horticulture， a global view and a theme of life－sharing． It will bring the unique immersive experience and joys to audiences and every guest and participant of the expo． It will reveal the philosophy behind the expo， that the mountains， waters， forests and fields are breathing together with mankind． The main content will include the tour， the gathering and the outlook． Based on the prescriptive ritual， the ceremony is divided into three parts， which are connected and integrated with six original programs． Together they form an intact logic with rhythm and natural beauty． It is the last gathering of the Beijing Expo family， a nostalgic farewell full of fond memories． It is also a genuine wish and blessing towards life and nature， with which we are to embark on a new journey．

Beijing Expo has become a milestone in the history of International Horticultural Exhibitions， as it has broken new grounds and set new standards．

Themed around “Live green， live better”， Beijing Expo has incorporated “Integrating Horticulture into Nature and Touching Souls with Nature” as its philosophy and set itself the goal of “breaking new grounds for horticulture and setting new standards for ecological civilization”． Located in Yanqing， Bejing， the Expo park covers an area of 503 hectares． Expanded along two axes， the whole park is divided into different districts， with a mountain， a lake， a tower， a town， four pavilions and one theater built inside it． Here， visitors can have an eye－opening experience and enjoy the highlights of previous expos and all kinds of exotic plants． It is also a valuable collection of china’s unique species of plants， showing the contribution of China to the world＇s horticulture． In Beijing Expo， cutting－edge technologies are applied to fully present horticultural products of different dimensions and different elevations． Beijing Expo has become a milestone in 60 years of development of world horticulture exhibitions， with the largest number of participating countries， the richest species of horticulture products，the best presentation of exhibits． It has become the most influential event of its kind．

2019 Beijing Horticulture Exhibition ran smoothly during the session． The number of visitors will reach 8 million （data to be updated）

2019 Beijing Horticulture Exhibition attracted the largest number of international exhibitors of the A1 World Horticultural Exhibition， with 110 countries and international organizations involved． Major economies， such as Russia， the UK， France， Germany， Japan， India and industry leaders like Belgium， Singapore， the Netherlands have had wonderful presentations here in the Expo． Beijing Expo has been highly recognized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers（AIPH） ， the International Exhibitions Bureau （BIE），and also by international exhibitors． It has promoted multilateral exchanges and pragmatic cooperation between China and other countries and international organizations and has further expanded China＇s circle of friends and world influence． It is an important part of China＇s diplomatic events held at home in 2019． President XI Jinping once said： “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets．” Beijing Expo is a showcase of ecological civilization and maybe one of the best practices of forging a beautiful China．

During the session， competent departments took measures to ensure smooth operation of the Expo park． During major events and national holidays， such as Beijing Day， China Pavilion Day， 2019 World Ornamental Horticulture Summit， Summer holiday， Mid－Autumn Festival and National Day， efforts were made to facilitate fast entrance and comfortable experience of visiting． All in all， the number of visitors entering the park reached 8 million．  Nearly 3，000 cultural events were held， attracting 3，061，900 visitors， with 200，000 foreign visitors included．

Beijing Expo is a practice of ecological civilization and will leave us with a green heritage

Beijing expo has prioritized ecological protection from the planning and design to construction and operation． The park retained nearly 50000 original trees and planted 50000 arbors and 120000 shrubs． Developed on the basic structure of “one center， two axes， three belts， four pavilions and multiple districts”， the park has incorporated original geographical features and integrated the mountains， waters， forests and green fields． Beijing Expo has made a perfect combination of nature and man－made landscapes． The main venues of the park are built with green energy－saving technology． The Ecological Preservation area on the south bank of Guihe River provides habitat for birds and insects． The park has 34 independent gardens， 7 joint pavilions and 31 regional exhibitions of different provinces， autonomous regions and municipalities， and Hong Kong， Macao and Taiwan． In addition， there is also a display of agricultural products， fruit and vegetables． It is the first expo of this kind to realize “horticulture plus”．In Beijing Expo， you will not only find ornamental flowers， rare plants and various bonsai， but also latest technologies and techniques． The China Pavilion adheres to the concept of “Life prosper， China prosper”， and made a good use of the static display and dynamic interpretation． Flowers displayed grow in the vivid virtual background． Take a little walk in the pavilion． It is just like taking a tour on the vast land of China， when you smell the scent of flowers and listen to songs of birds．The International Pavilion adopts the concept of “Together and blossom”andapplies the multi－dimensional approach of “object plus multimedia plus interaction plus atmosphere” to display unique horticultural achievements and contributions from all over the world． The ＂Belt and Road＂watercolor exhibition was also held there． Paintings offamous flowers in 69 countries along the ＂Belt and Road＂showed rich culture of these countries． Love of nature， art and life is imprinted in these artworks．The Horticultural Experience Pavilion，according to the exhibition concept of “love horticulture， love life”， combines several ways of exhibition， such as static display， dynamic display， vision， hearing and interactive experience． The exhibitions here center on the plant diversity， coffee， tea， and traditional crafts so that visitors can experiencehorticulturein clothing， food， housing， utility， entertainment and health， and makes them experience that horticulture lets life become better．

The ten－episode－documentary，The Journey of Chinese Plants， initiated by Beijing Horticulture Exhibition Bureau has been officially launched in September 13． There are more than 300，000 species of plants in the world， and nearly one－tenth of them are native to China． As the first documentary of plants made by China， this documentary focuses its lens on a group of most representative Chinese plants that have changed the world． The vivid stories of more than 30 kinds of plants such as rice， tea， mulberry and soybean have become important cultural symbols of botanical studies in China． It is also a valuable green heritage of the 2019 Beijing Expo．

ZHOU Jianping， executive deputy director of the Beijing Horticulture Expo Bureau， said thatThe Journey of Chinese Plants calls on people to return to the real nature created originally by plants and feel with our heart the beautiful homeland shaped by plants． Through exploring the world of plants， people may start to feel humble and grateful in the face of the nature． Hopefully， through watching this documentary， people can better understand harmony between nature and mankind， and the underlining significance of “shared future for mankind”．

Beijing Expo will serve as a base for the dissemination of ecological civilization

Beijing Expo takes horticulture as the medium and actively implements the concept of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”． it will continue to promote international exchanges and cooperation， share green development and ecological civilization achievements． After the session， Beijing Expo will focus on transformation in four aspects． The first is to build the park into a demonstration base for ecological civilization．

The concept of “ecology comes first” runs through all stages of the planning and construction of Beijing Expo． The park fully respects biodiversity and manages to have its waters． Wetlands and woodlands harmoniously co－exist in the park． A virtuous cycle of self－sustaining and self－sufficient of the entire ecosystem is thus formed． The design and construction of various venues in the park features low－carbon， energy－saving and environmental protection measures， thus creating a model of green exhibition facilities and has since been rated as Beijing Demonstration Zone for Green Ecology． The second is to build the park into an eco－tourism destination and holiday resort． Thanks to Beijing Expo， the infrastructure and capacity of receiving tourists of Yanqing District has been significantly improved． The park boasts a horticultural theme， rich landscape resources， convenient service facilities and relatively special phenological intervals． All these advantages will help to build the Expo park into a functional area suitable for business， leisure and learning， and more importantly， a major tourist and leisure resort in the Beijing－Tianjin－Hebei region． The park is also an ideal place to grow holiday economy， night economy and weekend economy， as it already has fountain shows and live performances going on． The expo park can join hands with Badaling Great Wall and other traditional attractions and the Winter Olympic Games to develop a belt of holiday resort． Along this belt， tourists will be able to enjoy blossoms in spring， falling leaves in autumn and ice and snow in winter times． The third is to serve the Winter Olympic Games and develop itself into a service support base． The expo park will make good use of its existing resources such as hotels， apartments and other supporting facilities to provide services for staff and audience participating in the Winter Olympic Games including accommodation， office and entertainment． The fourth is to give play to the advantages of the park＇s night market and drive the night economy in northwest Beijing forward． Give full play to the park’s famous night attractions such as live performances， fountain shows and fantasy forests， so that tourists can spend some unforgettable nights in Yanqing． Also， it is to coordinate the facilities inside and outside the park and build facilities such as theme blocks and commercial complexes， to better accommodate visitors． Visitor will pour in to spent one day in the park of green and sleep one night in the sea of flowers． The fifth is to spur the horticultural industry and build up a base for industrial innovation． R＆D of new species， horticultural experience and high－quality planting will be the key direction to realize mutual promotion of the Beijing Expo and horticultural industry．