Firstly, toshow the style of water town. The natural landscapes existing in the basesite of the Expo such as ponds, rivers, ditches and land are fully respectedand fully utilized. After subtly repaired and organized, a water garden stylecomes into being, where rivers and ponds can be seen here and there, and waternetworks are connected by small piece of lands. At the same time, a variety ofmodern ecological sponge techniques and methods are applied to build the parkinto a sponge-type ecological garden park that can realize water penetration,storage and purification naturally.
Secondly, toinherit the Jingchu Style. The Acient Jinan Town, where this garden expo islocated, is an important birthplace of Chu culture. By inheriting the culturalcharacteristics of the Chu people who respect the nature and pursue the“harmony between man and nature”, the park integrates the human landscape intothe natural environment, showing the characteristics of Jingchu garden, with astrong sense of Jingchu style. For example, the city-level exhibition gardensselect “Chu style” as the theme, with “sound style, flower style, culturalstyle, and wind style” as the characteristics, expressing the connotation ofmusic, poetry, art, text, clothing and tattoos in Chu State. While thecounty-level exhibition gardens, with the “Chu Cultivation” as the theme, showsthe water town characteristics and natural charm of Jingchu gardens in the newera with water and fish town culture as carrier.
On the morningof September 20th, the Press Office of Hubei Provincial Government held a pressconference for the 2nd Hubei Province (Jingzhou) Garden Expo. Jin Tao, Memberof the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Provincial Department ofHousing and Urban-Rural, and Wu Chaoan, Member of the Standing Committee of theJingzhou Municipal Party Committee, Director of the Publicity Department, andExecutive Deputy Commander of the Jingzhou Organizing Headquaters for the Second Hubei Province GardenExpo attended the conference, released related information regarding this Expoand answered questions proposed by reporters.
It is reportedthat the 2nd Hubei Province (Jingzhou) Garden Expo is to open from September 28to November 28, 2019, with the opening ceremony held at 10:00 am on September28.
With “GloriousJingchu, Ecological Garden Expo” as the theme, the “Water-nourished Jingchu” isdesigned as the emblem of this year’s Garden Expo, which is simple in shape andprofound is meaning. It is composed of such local elements of Jingzhou as lotusand phoenix, which is a vivid interpretation on the beauty and cultureconnotation of Jingzhou. The mascots are “Jingjing” and “Chuchu”, which evolvedfrom cowfish and the elk, national treasure-class animals of the Yangtze River.They are dressed in clothes in Chu embroidery, which shows the profoundhistorical and cultural heritage of Jingzhou, as well as the charm of theecological water town.
Construction progress
TheConstruction of the Jingzhou Garden Expo Park kicked off in February 2018 witha total investment of 3 billion yuan, among which, 1 billion yuan is spent on constructioninside the Park, and 2 billion yuan in land acquisition and demolition, as wellas supporting infrastructure construction outside the Park. As ofmid-September, 45 exhibition parks and main exhibition halls, key projectsincluding “Lofty Mountains and Flowing Waters”, and the cultural experiencecenters and basic facilities such as supporting roads inside and outside thepark have all been completed and will be open to the public as scheduled onSeptember 28.
Opening hours
This Expo willbe officially open to the public at 12:00 pm on September 28. The daily openinghours of the park is 9:00-17:00 from September 29 to November 28.
Ticket rates
The ticketprice is 60 yuan / person during the period of the Garden Expo. Senior citizensaged between 60 and 65 years old, children who are 1.2-1.5 meters in height,full-time undergraduate students and below (excluding TV universities,correspondence colleges, evening colleges, etc.) can enjoy 50% discount whenholding related original documents. Senior citizens aged above 65, childrenunder 1.2 meters in height, disabled persons, active military holding therelevant original documents can be admitted to the park for free. Ticket forthe Expo are sold on-site, through e-commerce websites and travel agencies.
There are twobus lines, Route 22 and Route 42, in Jingzhou, traveling through all main roadsin the city. In addition, there are battery trucks in operation in the park,providing services for tourists.
Activities
During thecurrent Expo, we will also launch more than 60 cultural events and performancesbased on themes of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of PRC, thedisplay of achievements on ecological civilization construction, andperformances featuring Jingchu cultural characteristics, presenting wonderfulthemed cultural feasts for both citizens and tourists. These include the keyactivities including interactive exhibition highlighting Chu culture themed“Style in Yingdu, the capital of the prosperous Chu State”, displays ofintangible projects in Jingzhou and interactive experience, float parade andmusic and dance performances in Chu Palace.
Attachment:Q&As onthe press conference for the 2nd Hubei Province (Jingzhou) Garden Expo
Question 1: MrJin, what about characteristics and highlights of this year's Garden Expo whencompared with previous ones?
Answer: Thetheme of this year's Garden Expo is “Glorious Jingchu, Ecological Garden Expo”,which we follow strictly from site selection, planning, construction andvarious cultural activities. The purpose is to inherit Jingchu culture, displayJingchu garden art and facilitate ecological civilization.
In summary, there are threecharacteristics:
Firstly, toshow the style of water town. The natural landscapes existing in the basesite of the Expo such as ponds, rivers, ditches and land are fully respectedand fully utilized. After subtly repaired and organized, a water garden stylecomes into being, where rivers and ponds can be seen here and there, and waternetworks are connected by small piece of lands. At the same time, a variety ofmodern ecological sponge techniques and methods are applied to build the parkinto a sponge-type ecological garden park that can realize water penetration,storage and purification naturally.
Secondly, toinherit the Jingchu Style. The Acient Jinan Town, where this garden expo islocated, is an important birthplace of Chu culture. By inheriting the culturalcharacteristics of the Chu people who respect the nature and pursue the“harmony between man and nature”, the park integrates the human landscape intothe natural environment, showing the characteristics of Jingchu garden, with astrong sense of Jingchu style. For example, the city-level exhibition gardensselect “Chu style” as the theme, with “sound style, flower style, culturalstyle, and wind style” as the characteristics, expressing the connotation ofmusic, poetry, art, text, clothing and tattoos in Chu State. While thecounty-level exhibition gardens, with the “Chu Cultivation” as the theme, showsthe water town characteristics and natural charm of Jingchu gardens in the newera with water and fish town culture as carrier.
Thirdly, topresent cultural feasts. During the current Expo, we will also launch morethan 60 cultural events and performances based on themes of celebrating the70th anniversary of the founding of PRC, the display of achievements onecological civilization construction, and performances featuring Jingchucultural characteristics, to display the extensive and profound Chu culturefrom multiple angles, presenting wonderful themed cultural feast for bothcitizens and tourists.
I believe thatthis Garden Expo will become another business card of the historical andcultural city of Jingzhou, leaving valuable ecological legacy for futuregenerations, and will also lift the gardening cause in Hubei Province to a newheight!
Question 2: MrXiang, you are from Jinan Cultural Tourism Zone in Jingzhou, would you pleasetell us how to better serve tourists during the exhibition of this year'sGarden Expo? How to operate after the exhibition?
Answer: Duringthe two-month exhibition of this year's Garden Expo, as the host, we willprovide comprehensive and high-quality services for guests from all around theworld, to make everyone enjoy their journey both in the garden and in Jingzhou.
Firstly, to provide convenient supporting services. It mainlycovers ticket sales, transportation and catering; tickets are sold on-site, atwebsite and in travel agencies, and we offer 50% discount or even free ticketsfor active military, students, disabled persons, children and senior citizens.Two bus routes are opened in Jingzhou City to ensure the travel of citizens andvisitors. There are 80 battery trucks operating in the park, and dining areaoffered various specialties to meet needs of different groups of people.
Secondly, to provide quality instruction services. In the earlystage, we hired 32 instructors from the Jingzhou Museum and other units to forma professional instruction team. We conducted on training and drills to ensurethat each instructor can fully explain the characteristics of the 45 parks andanswer questions from visitors in a detailed and accurate manner, allowingvisitors to learn about the style and cultural charm of Jingchu Garden whileenjoying the scenery in the park.
Thirdly, to provide efficient guarantees andservices. During theexhibition, we arranged guarantee teams including on-site medicine, emergency,communication, etc. Security personnel will conduct inspections in the parkaround the clock to provide convenient services for guests and visitors, tomake everyone feel at ease.
After theexhibition, Jingzhou Garden Expo Park will, based on Jingchu culture and gardenstyle, and tap into its market potential, expand consumers and increase trafficin the park through daily activities planning, peripheral product development,tourism channel development, publicity and promotion, etc., the source of customerswill be expanded and upgraded, thus enhancing the influence and radiation ofthe Expo. At the same time, we will effectively reduce the operating costs ofthe park, offer more choices for development of projects in the later period,and build the Garden Expo into a first-class scenic spot in China.
Question 3: MrWu, this Garden Expo is sure to be successfully held, and what impact will itbring to Jingzhou's cultural tourism industry?
Answer: Inrecent years, Jingzhou City has thoroughly implemented the strategic deploymentof the provincial party committee and the provincial government to build thecity into a domestic first-class tourist destination and the core area of theInternational Golden Tourism Belt along the Yangtze River, regard “culturalinheritance and tourism development” as an important content the developmentstrategy featuring “four-wheel drive and two-wing guarantee” in Jingzhou, andsped up the high-quality development of the cultural tourism industry. Bytaking opportunities of the openings of the Fantawild and the Garden Expo, wewill make 2019 the first year marking the booming of cultural tourism industryin Jingzhou.
This GardenExpo will exert impact on cultural tourism industry in Jingzhou in thefollowing three aspects:
Firstly, topromote the high-quality development of cultural tourism industry in Jingzhou. Thecomprehensive tourism income of Jingzhou reached 31.6 billion yuan in 2018, maintaininga growth rate of more than 20% for four consecutive years. With the opening ofthe “Two Parks” this year, we will meet visitors from all over the world, whichwill further enhance the comprehensive income of cultural tourism industry andpromote the high-quality development of the industry in Jingzhou.
Secondly, topromote the rapid development of service industry in Jingzhou. The successfulholding of garden expo in Jingzhou, will further optimize the supply of serviceindustry, foster more consumption growth points, and form a cultural tourismbusiness circle with the Jinan Cultural Tourism Zone as the center, promotingthe construction of urban supporting facilities such as transportation, medicalcare, hydropower, and communications, and improve the management level ofJingzhou city.
Thirdly, toenhance the influence of Jingzhou City. The Expo held in Jingzhou is sure toform the unique charm of Jingchu Garden and further enhance Jingzhou'sreputation and influence. After the closing of the Garden Expo, the Garden ExpoPark will be permanently preserved as a landscape and become a destination fortourists and citizens for daily leisure and tourism. At that time, the JingchuCultural Tourism Matrix integrating the park and Jingzhou Ancient City, GuanYu’sGarden, the Museum, the Garden Expo Park, Fantawild and Vehicles and HorseArray of King of Chu will be formed, making Jingzhou a tourist destinationwell-known at home and abroad.