The 10^th China Flower Expo that will be held on Shanghai’s Chongming Island is entering the final stage of preparation, with several rounds of stress tests set to take place in May, according to local authorities. Chen Qun, Deputy Director of the Expo’s Management Department, said that the construction of outdoor gardens and indoor exhibition venues is scheduled to be completed by mid-May. “It will be the first expo to be hosted on an island, in the countryside and surrounded by forests,” said Chen. The first edition of the expo was held in Beijing in 1987. The host venue is rotated among other cities every four years. The expo, which will span 10 square kilometers, will take place on the island from May 21 to July 2. It will comprise a core flower exhibition zone with a record high 180 outdoor gardens and two service zones. The expo’s official flower is the peony, which symbolizes wealth  and good fortune.

Tourists will get to see over 1,000 types of flowers including magnolia, Chinese plums, and chrysanthemums. “One of the highlights would be the largest outdoor orchid park in China that measures 30,000 sq m. The park will feature 300 kinds of orchids from around the world,” said Ren Yuanbin, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Chongming Ecotourism Group. Rare flowers such as green chrysanthemum and the world’s smallest water lily will be exhibited as well, Ren added. At the Hongqiao Flower Village in Jianshe town of Chongming, three new tulip varieties that were cultivated in the Netherlands are being stored in the village now as a gift for the expo, according to Jiang Yong, Chairman of Shanghai Aalsmeer Horticulture, which manages the village. The village is a vital part of the China-Dutch tulips industrial base launched by the district government of Chongming in 2019. On April 10, Shanghai released six tourism routes themed around the expo. Among them are a tour package combining entry to the flower expo with a cruise tour on the Huangpu river, an outdoor cycling route covering multiple scenic spots on Chongming island, and a route featuring local cultural activities. The city will offer shuttle services that connect the expo to downtown areas.

Chongming has been promoting its flower industry for years as part of Shanghai’s master plan to transform the island into a world-class ecological zone by 2035. As of 2020, the total area planted with commercial flowers on the island was 18.67 sq km, generating a total output of more than 32 million flowers and annual sales of over CNY100 million. Chongming has introduced eight leading enterprises to build a complete industry chain covering flower R&D, production and trading, with a total investment of nearly CNY2.5 billion. The Hongqiao flower village has an area for flower cultivation of nearly 8,000 sq m and a flower theme park. All tulips in the village are imported from the Netherlands. Greenhouses and flower workshops are also under construction, the China Daily reports.