The Beijing International Garden Expo 2019 is definitely worth visiting!
Under the motto “Live Green, Live Better”, there will be contributions by 120 countries and 120 NGOs until October 7, 2019. Pavillons and gardens.
Long journey
It takes nearly two hours to get from Liangmaqiao to Yanqing. But the weather is good and there is a nice view of the Great Wall at Badaling.
At the expo parking lot I was overwhelmed by the size and the spaciousness.
Difficult decision: where to go first?
The many different gardens of China
First, I visited some Chinese regional gardens. The sun was burning from the sky, so there were not too many people. Every region of China has its own style, although there are some recurring elements (moon gates or large stones, for example). Of course, the desert garden looks different than the tropical island of Hainan.
The international pavillons
The German Pavilion was disappointing, perhaps I expected something different than to be faced with coal mining at the entrance. Followed by a few photos of the renaturation of the death strip at border between West and East Germany. In the middle of the pavillon was a pretty horrible (stone) garden with lots of gravel. Quite nice though: an allotment arbor. On the website of the German Pavilion, everything reads well thought and nice, perhaps I should give it a second chance.
Really nice: the pavillon of Qatar.
Doha/Qatar will be hosting the next Garden Expo 2021.
It’s not possible to see everything in only one day
I left out both the Chinese and the International pavilions – the queues were incredibly long, so that half of the time for visiting the expo would have been wasted waiting. But the building with the giant parasol flowers was an eye-catcher.
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Info!
Standardticket: 120 RMB
Passport required!
Opening hours: 8am-9pm
More info: Official Website
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