The 9th China (Beijing) International Garden Expo

On Saturday we went on a family trip to this Chinese Chelsea flower show. Now the name may seem confusing, but from what I could work out its a giant park within which there are a selection of different 'gardens'. The gardens come from different provinces along with a European garden and an Islamic one. It's based in a giant park in the west of Beijing and each year it moves to a different city in China. It was mobbed! As in Alton Towers on the bank holiday mobbed. A popular trip for many Beijingers on their day off. There were lots of families, some even appeared to have 4 generations with them! 

Elements of the day would be easily recognisable anywhere in the world. The parents argued about the parking, Leo ran towards a toy stall, I had to chase him. The parents argued about the route around the park, the grandad tried to add his opinion, Leo ran towards a hedge shaped like a giant bird, I chased him. The Grandma stood under her umbrella and meandered along. (A lot of women in China use umbrellas even when it's sunny to make sure they don't tan.)

A Phoenix made out of a hedge, quite ironic given the birds propensity for flames.

The Great Wall.

After the mum took pictures of Leo for ages we finally moved away from the entrance. The first garden we reached was from AnHui province.

Only the royal family could use the middle gate in ancient times.

It was done in a very classical manner, with a fish pool (pond doesn't seem like the right word), a couple of 亭子 (tíngzi) which are pavilions, and a waterfall alongside typical Gates and stone carvings.

These pavilions were traditionally placed in vantage points for admiring a particularly beautiful aspect of the garden. They contained seats for resting, and were often used for fishing, writing or painting. So these gardens were used in a manner very similar to Europe.

The architecture here is inspired by HeFei the capital city of AnHui province.

The next garden was from Inner Mongolia.

The design of their buildings really sets itself apart from the rest of China, and the focus here was on their agricultural and Nomadic lifestyles. Inside there was a small exhibition about the life of the Mongols, and how their warring caused the desertification of Inner Mongolia. It carried on to say how the Han people had developed the Ordos region reversing desertification and promoting Economic growth. However Ordos is a ghost town, it has sat virtually empty for 7 years and now it's builders are in massive debt. Do I spy a little bit of misleading information there?

A Mongolian gathering place.

Next we went into the Exhibition hall which housed a lot of foreign plants. Including this Bonsai tree.

And these giant Orchids.

However in that Chinese way most people crowded around the 'rainbow' Roses and Lilies. Which just about edged out the electric hummingbirds as the most popular attraction of the day. They had just dipped the stems in food dye, which changed the petals' colour. 

There were also these very weird looking things. I have not a clue what they are. 

P.S. I've had to split this post up because I've spent the past 2 days trying to upload it!