World Horticultural Expo 2011, Xi'an

The World Horticultural Expo will be held in Xi'an (Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China) from 28 April, 2011, until 22 October, 2011. That's a six month window of opportunity for any keen gardeners or horticulturalists who would like to see amazing displays of the latest plants and plant technologies in extensive purpose built grounds.

The Expo finished with a Closing Ceremony and Gala Performance on 22 October.

The Expo Park will be closed over the winter and will then re-open to the public on 28 April, 2012. It is sure to remain a good option for visitors for some years yet.

Two other cities in the People's Republic of China have hosted the World Horticultural Expo previously.

Kunming (Yunnan Province) hosted the event back in 1999. This was themed as:

Man and Nature, marching into the 21st century

The site is still extant and is used for a local expo every year, currently in October. The site is noted for its topiaries as well as its Bamboo Garden, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Garden and Bonsai Garden.

Shenyang (Liaoning Province) then hosted the event in 2006. This was themed:

man live in harmony with nature

The main features were a huge (125 metre tall) lily-shaped sculpture and over 3500 different varieties of roses.

Qingdao (Shandong Province) is due to keep the tradition alive and will host the event in 2014.

The 2011 World Horticultural Expo is themed as:

Eternal Peace & Harmony between Nature & Mankind, Nurturing the Future Earth

It will be held on a new site in Chanba District, between the airport and the downtown.

The expo is expected to bring some 10 million visitors to Xi'an (that's 50 000 per day on average, though 200 000 are expected on peak days).

The design of the site was put out to international competition and won by PlasmaStudio architects. Their masterplan, entitled Flowing Gardens, takes Circulation as its key factor. A single stream enters the grounds and then diverges much as a river does on enterings its delta. The water enters a lake but this is not the end; that same water is cleaned naturally by reed beds and then re-used in the irrigation systems that keep the whole in pristine condition.

The site will have three main buildings:

Gate Building: There will be a formal gate building that allows access to the site. This is positioned so as to give visitors a side-on view of the main axis and therefore an idea of the layout.

Exhibition Hall: This amazing building is positioned on the main axis beside, and even over, the lake. Yes - the structure is cantilevered out beyond the banks, perhaps to break down the physical boundary but certainly to provide a better angle for views over the lake. A ramp leads to the top of the exhibition hall and many visitors are sure to head up there for a better perspective too.

Boats will leave from near the Exhibition Centre for pleasure trips across the lake.

Greenhouse: The artificial climate zones induced by a greenhouse are always of interest but this structure is meant to be an interesting and attractive feature in itself. The tunnel is contorted into a horse-shoe shape creating a central space on the outside - if that's not a contradiction in terms. A third dimension is added by the craetion of a pathway through this centre an up over the greenhouse structure.