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The Coastal¹ city of Qingdao is hosting a major horticultural event, the International Horticultural Exposition. Nearly a hundred gardens there are featuring scenery from China and about forty other countries.

Qingdao International Horticultural Expo opens

Visitors to the International Horticultural Expo don't have to go to Beijing to see the layout of a traditional hutong courtyard, or imagine the lifestyle of old Beijingers. They merely have to visit the expo's Beijing Park.

"The Beijing courtyard, or Siheyuaner in Chinese, were largely built in the Yuan dynasty, so they contain four hundred years of culture. The fish jar here symbolizes³ wealth, as gold fish in Chinese is pronounced the same as gold and jade⁴. The two pomegranate trees symbolize² many family descendants," Pang⁵ Liang, manager of Administration Department of International Horticultural Expo, said.

While the Beijing courtyard represents garden views from the north, this Suzhou garden displays the exquisite⁶ layout of gardens from the South. Water is at the heart of the scenery. And the many pavilions here are the finest examples of the buildings found inside Chinese gardens.

There are also gardens named after scenic⁷ spots inside Shandong Province, where Qingdao is located.

Meanwhile, all the buildings, ornaments⁸ and sculptures in this garden are related to Buddhism⁹. It's the Thailand zone, and it displays two types of temples that are common to the country.

"This is an event like China's dragon boat. Local people hold such boat competitions on certain days of the year," staff member Ding Yi said.
 
And from tropical scenery there is also nordic splendor¹⁰. This ice bar, built with ice transported from Sweden, conjures¹¹ up a winter wonderland with ice walls, chairs and carved ice art.

"We offer patrons wine just like other bars. Except that the wine is put into an ice jar, and they can take the jar away. When the jar melts, it epitomize the theme of the expo, 'from the earth, for the earth'," staff member Lu Qian said.

The homeland of windmills and tulips is also represented at the Qingdao expo.

This windmill covered with straw is a replica¹² of a real one in the hometown of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh.

The Qingdao Horticultural Expo is a one-stop destination to appreciate the world's garden views and the most advanced horticultural skills. It runs till the end of October.