A Horticultural Feast in Chengdu

ZHANG XIAO

“Behind me， you can see the roofof the main exhibition hall. Itis made of one million ginkgoleaves！” Holding a selfie stick， travelvlogger Xiaochuan said while standingat the main exhibition hall of the InternationalHorticultural Exhibition 2024Chengdu， recording a tour guide for hisfollowers. He was dazzled by the greenand low-carbon concepts at the exhibition，which opened on April 26， 2024 andwill run till October 28.

The exhibitiont presents a pictureof harmonious coexistence betweenhumans and nature and its green， lowcarbonand sustainable concepts are thefoundations of a future green city. HuangCong， chief planner of the main exhibitionvenue and vice president of TYLinInternational China， said the exhibitionhas issued a low carbon managementplan， a first in its six decades of inception.He pointed to three steel roses atthe entrance of the main venue. “This isa rainwater collector，” he said. The petalscollect the rainwater which is transported into the underground filtrationand storage system through pipes. Thesteel roses are expected to collect approximately2，500 tons of rainwater peryear， which can meet the daily irrigationneeds of the two-hectare green space inthe exhibition zone， he explained.

Innovative designs like this can beseen throughout the exhibition zone. Themain exhibition hall has been designedto utilize natural ventilation and light，which makes it cool in summer andwarm during the cold winter， thus reducingthe energy needed for its operationand maintenance. A low temperaturefresh air system set up above the lakenearby produces natural cooling， reducingthe energy needed for air conditioning.Other venues are using green technologiessuch as small air-conditioningsystems， photovoltaic glass， and insulationwalls built of composite materials toachieve the overall goal of carbon emissionreduction.

In the Tianjin Pavellion， the AI cyclingequipment is very popular with visitors.They can have a ride while viewing theexhibition virtually on the electronic screen the bike is fitted with. To keep thevenue mosquito-free， “mosquito traps”are in use. Compared with traditionalmosquito control methods， it is pollution-free and consumes little energy. Themain venue has also embedded specialapplication scenarios such as drone cateringdelivery， remote shopping， emergencymedical treatment， centralizedcollection of lost items， and low-altitudetimelapse panoramic photography.

After inspecting the preparations forthe main venue， Tim Briercliffe， secretarygeneral of the Association Internationaledes Producteurs de lHorticulture， saidit would create unforgettable memories.“Visitors from all over the world canlearn about Chengdus green vision andsee what green cities in the future willlook like through the Chengdu exhibition，”he said.

Keeping Future Use in Mind

The exhibition has been constructedbased on a pattern of “one main venue and four auxiliaries.” That is， it has themain venue in the Chengdu Eastern NewArea and four branches themed on WenjiangSichuan-Style Bonsai， Pidu FlowerIndustry， Xinjin Modern Agronomy， andQionglai Biodiversity Protection respectively.The main venue， with an area of242.2 hectares， has over 100 exhibitionparks and six core venues with plantsfrom the five continents on display. Thetotal number of exhibition parks， includingoverseas exhibition parks， has setrecords in the history of the horticulturalexhibition.

When these were designed， the plannerstook into consideration their subsequentuse once the exhibition is over.Huang said the designing team doesnt design any building that cant be usedin the future. “Even a small building of200 square meters will have new functionsafter the exhibition ends，” he said.To integrate the park planning with thedevelopment of subsequent industries， atthe very beginning they designed a postexhibitionindustrial layout based on thecultivation and R&D of flowers and seedlings，as well as science popularization，leisure tourism， and public services.

“After the exhibition ends， the wholepark will be transformed into five functionalsections for industries， universities，research institutes， tourism， andresidence. All the main buildings willbe retained and transformed. For example，the main exhibition hall will betransformed into the Eastern New AreaCultural and Art Center， the botanicalgreenhouse will be a flower R&D andscience popularization center， and thecomprehensive service hall will be aneighborhood service center. The beautifulJinyun Pavelion will be the Xishu AncientGarden Museum. The open spacewill be retained as a park， with part of ittransformed into industrial incubators.Different designs， materials， constructionmethods， and plants will be used for thereserved area and the transformed areato reduce waste. For example， in compliancewith the flower seedling industry，a large area of flower fields and lawns inthe northeast will become a test field forsustainable use of the park，” Huang said.

Commenting on this， Leonardo Capitanio，chair of AIPH， said， “China is pursuinga sustainable lifestyle， which is theright direction. I believe China will makegreat achievements in this field in thefuture.”

From Foul to Fair

The water route of the exhibition，featuring docks and observation platforms，has become a must-visit for many.Watching visitors take a boat tour alongthe clear Jiangxi River， Zhou Jiming， headof the River Chief Office of the WaterControl Center in the Eastern New Areaof Chengdu， smiled with pride.

A decade ago， Jiangxi was a severelypolluted river. “There were no centralizedsewage treatment facilities in thetowns along the river， and the sewagewas discharged directly into its waters.Domestic garbage and agriculturalwaste soon piled up. You could seestraw， plastic bags and bottles everywhere，and people complained （of thefoul smell）， especially in summer andautumn，” Zhou said.

Then the area promoted river and lakemanagement through the river chief systemand actions for pollution prevention，environmental restoration and preservation River cleaning campaigns were carriedout and ecological restoration wasstrengthened to clean up the water bodiesand make the banks lush with greenery.Sewage was intercepted and Jiangxiwas dredged and its waters replenishedtill it finally became clear again.

“Weve listed the water environmentproblems in the design process of themain venue， formulated water qualityprotection and water storage plans，and supervised projects such as sewageinterception， dredging， and waterreplenishmen，” Zhou said. “We also assisteda local company with ecologicalmanagement plans for the river. We putin great effort to ensure clear water andbeautiful sceneries for Jiangxi and itstributaries.”

The Chengdu horticultural exhibition has also created a platform for disseminatinggreen development concepts. “Wehave also developed guidelines for theexhibition park design and evaluated thedesign of each exhibition park based onthe philosophy of the exhibition，” Huangsaid. “During this process， weve conducteda lot of dialogues with domesticand foreign design agencies. Our goalsare the same， which is green， low-carbon，and sustainable development.”

From the Beijing Pavilion that demonstratesa garden city， to the Changsha Pavilionshowcasing a land of flowers anda three-dimensional forest， and the otherpavilions at the Chengdu horticulturalexhibition park with each displaying aunique aspect， all these demonstrateChinas steps to promote the constructionof an ecological civilization.