The International Flora Expo in Taipei

MUST SEE!

November 6, 2010 to April 25, 2011
Opening time: 9 AM to 22 PM
Yuanshan MRT station (Danshui line) for the main entrance.

This isn't a traditional flower exhibition. The first difference is scale. The area covered by this expo is huge! I couldn't find distances on the map that is provided.- Maybe they don't want to scare the visitors.- But in one afternoon we could only walk through half the expo! It's bigger than a Disney Park!

This is an apt comparison, because this Expo has also been organized around several themes. Flowers are not the sole subject of the exhibition, but they provide the link and inspiration for all 14 pavilions in 8 areas.

For instance, in the background, this New Fashion structure was built with bamboo and 1.5 million used PET bottles!

The one area of particular interest for us is the Floral Tea Court. It is set in Taipei's best preserved traditional Fujian-styled quadrangular courtyard residence. A traditional garden with pond has been added. If you have visited the Lin Jia Garden in Banciao, you will see that it provided a lot of inspiration for this new construction.

The Expo could have let us just admire this old house, but they had the fantastic idea to let visitors drink tea within its walls! (See below). This makes the past come alive in our lives. It gives an additional dimension to our beloved leaves. This is also a reason why I like to use (and not just display) antique accessories when I make tea.

Deservedly, the Flora Expo (Hua Bo) is attracting many visitors. Let's be happy that culture beautifully wrapped in flowers can draw so many people! (There was no chaos and everything remained clean.) However, the lines to each pavilion were long this past Sunday and so we decided to see the outdoors. Therefore, I recommend you visit during the week, if you can, or that you come early. And get ready to come again, because one day won't be enough to see it all!


Chinese speakers can watch this video for a report about the Expo.