Blossoming Communication

by Zhao Yue

At 9：30 p.m. on April 28， Yan Wei， chief landscape architect of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing （hereinafter the“Beijing Expo”） and head of the expert studio of the Beijing Institute of Landscape and Traditional Architectural Design and Research Co.， Ltd.， who is generally inactive on social media， surprisingly posted a message on his WeChat Moments. It read that “At this moment， all kinds of feelings are welled up in my heart.” That day marked the opening of the 2019 Beijing Expo， which welcomed visitors from all over the world.

Yan has been engaged in landscape architecture for nearly 30 years. He has served as the head landscape architect for a number of major events including the first and second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017 and 2019 respectively， the 2014 Beijing APEC Summit， and the military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese Peoples War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The 2019 Beijing Expo is the latest project to which he has devoted tremendous efforts. From the groundbreaking ceremony of the expo site in September 2016 to the opening in April 2019， Yan and his colleagues spent two and a half years transforming the landscape of the 503-hectare expo site from blueprint into reality.

Recently， China Pictorial （CP） sat down with Yan Wei. Yan believes that as an international platform and horticultural festival， facilitating communication is the most important purpose of the 2019 Beijing Expo. Through extensive communication， horticultural technologies， horticultural cultures and green development concepts will be better promoted， which is of great significance for landscape and garden designers and architects around the world.

CP： How did general landscape planning for the Beijing Expo take shape？ Where did you find inspiration？

Yan Wei： Landscape gardens， which emphasize the unity and integration of nature and man， stand out among traditional Chinese gardens. That concept was the central premise when we first started landscape planning for the Beijing Expo. We looked for inspiration and design elements from nature. In the early days of our project， I often toured the expo site on a bicycle， in hopes to find more inspiration from the site.

With mountains to the north， the Guihe River transects the expo site. We found in Biographic Sketches of Five Emperors collected in Records of the Grand Historian （which recounts Chinas history for around 3，000 years from the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu [156-87B.C.] of the Western Han Dynasty[202B.C.-8 A.D.]， penned by Sima Qian， a renowned historian in the Western Han Dynasty） that legendary Chinese monarch Shun once lived in Guirui. Guirui was the place where the Guihe River took a sharp turn. Although we cannot be sure whether the Guihe River in historical records is the current Guihe River at the expo site， the scene described in the historical records moved us greatly： “Workers bend to perform different jobs. Various crops ripen. Friendly locals lead an affluent life， and the phoenix flies over as an auspicious sign.”The overall landscape design of the Beijing Expo aims to create an atmosphere of harmonious existence among mountains， rivers， forests， fields， and lakes， bringing the scenes described in the ancient text back to life.

CP： The expos landscape design has already been seen by many visitors. Did the final product meet all your expectations？

Yan： It has indeed met my expectations. And I believe that landscape and garden presentations will only become better and better as time goes by. Because all plants in nature are alive and constantly growing. With the help of maintenance management， I believe this landscaping will improve and become more integrated with nature.

The Beijing Expo will last for 162 days， and the landscape will change naturally during that time. Visitors will have different experiences with the change of seasons. Taking this into consideration， we carefully selected the plant species. For example， visitors can see plants such as the Chinese flowering crabapple and the lilac in spring， abundant aquatic plants in summer and various colored-leaf trees in autumn.

CP： What new technologies were adopted for the landscape design of the Beijing Expo？

Yan： High-tech has been incorporated into the exhibition and display of the Beijing Expos landscape and gardens. On the one hand， new technologies were employed as exhibition methods. For example， the“fantastic light and shadow forest”show located in the natural ecological display zone， based on the ancient Chinese mythology The Classic of Mountains and Seas， uses cuttingedge technologies such as virtual reality （VR）， augmented reality（AR）， human-computer interaction and mobile streaming media. In the exhibition hall on the first floor of the Botany Pavilion， a virtual mangrove forest was created with high-tech digital imaging equipment. The digital technology illuminates how the growth mechanism of mangroves evolved to adapt to the tides.

On the other hand， horticultural technology has been used extensively throughout the Beijing Expo. The weather in Yanqing District is cooler than downtown Beijing. So we employed plentiful scientific and technological means to ensure certain flowers had bloomed during the May Day holiday when the expo just opened. To achieve better landscape effects， other technologies were employed to prolong some plants flowering periods and even change the colors of petals.

CP： Compared to the 1999 Kunming World Horticultural Exposition， another A1 category international horticultural expo， and the other A2/B1 category horticultural exhibitions held in China， what unique highlights of landscape design will make people remember the Beijing Expo？ What are the significant improvements over previous shows？

Yan： The Beijing Expo is large and rich in content. Tourists will be exhausted if they try to experience everything in one day. Before we produced the landscape planning for the Beijing Expo， we consulted professionals involved in the Kunming， Xian and Shenyang expositions and learned from their valuable experience. First， we did a lot of work to enhance visitor comfort. Ample facilities for rest and services were installed in every key scenic area， and trees were planted to provide shade along routes to ensure visitors have a comfortable tour and enable them to better control the pace of the tours. Designs and planning like this are extremely important for a huge scenic spot with heavy tourist flow such as the expo site.

The second highlight of the Beijing Expo is the functional divisions of the expo site which guarantee substantial touring routes with much to see. For instance， this expo set up a core scenic area around the China Pavilion， the International Pavilion， the Performing Arts Center by Guirui Lake， and the Chinese horticultural exhibition zone. This core scenic area has already attracted heavy flows of tourists.

Third， we consciously designed several “landmarks” for tourists. For example， the landmark for visitors entering the expo site from Gate One is the China Pavilion， the landmark for Gate Two is the International Pavilion， and the landmark for Gate Four is the Living Experience Pavilion. Our intention was to give visitors physical references during the tour， so that they can have a clear sense of directions within the expo site.

CP： Compared to A1 international horticultural expositions in other countries， how does the Beijing Expo exhibit Chinese elements while staying international？

Yan： From the planning level， one goal of the Beijing Expo was to build a platform for countries and international organizations from all over the world to showcase their horticultures and technologies. As a world-class exhibition， the Beijing Expo has provided a platform for international exhibitors to optimize their horticultural professionalism and fully express their respective cultures. In terms of implementation， the Beijing Expo invited many international organizations to share their understandings of horticulture from the perspective of different industries. The expo also invited six international horticultural masters. Through the gardens they created for the expo， the latest ideas on planting and landscaping have been delivered to the public. Moreover， a number of activities and national pavilion days have facilitated further international cultural exchange.

CP： In terms of the integrated development of the city and landscape architecture， what changes and impact do you expect the expo to leave on Beijing？

Yan： The most direct impact of the expo on Beijing is， of course， the huge garden it will leave to the city， which will inspire Beijing citizens to better embrace and enjoy nature. In addition， through the continuous communication and visits during the 162-day exhibition period， the expo will leave a deep impression on Beijings future horticultural development and even cultural development. The green development concept will surely permeate every aspect of social life.

CP： What kind of new relationship do you expect to form between landscapes， people and the city？

Yan： “We must maintain the overall balance of the Earths ecosystem， so that our children and childrens children will not only have material wealth but also enjoy starry skies， green mountains and sweet flowers，” remarked Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the Beijing Expo， which reflects Chinas desire for a harmonious relationship between landscapes， people and cities.

The vivid statements made by President Xi shined light on the dream and determination of Chinas green development. I hope that through this expo， more people will visit Yanqing District to see the green hills and smell the sweet flowers. They will leave with love for gardening， love for the city where they live， love for nature and love for life.