City set to blossom as flower festival approaches

Shanghai is blooming with the monthlong 2025 Shanghai International Flower Show set to open on Friday in multiple locations, presenting a spectacular visual feast and an array of amazing activities.

For the first time, the annual showcase will be presented at two main venues in Huangpu Xintiandi and Shanghai Botanical Garden, and five sub-venues, Xuhui District, the Pudong New Area, Fengxian District, Lingang Special Area and Shanghai Binjiang Forest Park, with the total display area amounting to 390 hectares.

The event will run through May 11, turning the city into a kaleidoscope of colors.

At the two main venues, the "International Flower Language," "Garden Story" and "Garden of Dreams" sections align with concepts such as "harmonious coexistence between humans and nature" and "park city," and will showcase 27 diverse garden attractions, using landscape art to express biodiversity and bridge the gap between people, cities, and nature, fostering the idea of harmonious coexistence.

The "International Flower Language" section, located in the Taiping Bridge green area at Huangpu Xintiandi, will feature gardens designed by internationally renowned landscape teams from the US, France, Germany, Japan and Singapore.

They highlight topics such as return of nature to cities, the integration of ecology and daily life, and urban biodiversity conservation. Within limited spaces, they will create profound landscape imagery, offering unique ecological, artistic, and technological perspectives to craft attractive, readable, and immersive green, low-carbon, and sustainable gardens.

Among these, the "Sense in the City" skilfully takes advantage of the natural butterfly-shaped layout of Taiping Bridge Lake Park and meticulously arranges gardens at key locations such as the butterfly's eyes and antennae. The landscape design elements draw inspiration from the senses of butterflies, with the aim of emphasizing biodiversity, low-carbon initiatives, and climate-adaptive planting.

Here, people can perceive the scents, the wind, and the sunlight, embarking on a wonderful journey to explore the harmonious coexistence between the city and nature.

The garden "A Room with View" from a French team draws inspiration from the book of the same name. The entire garden is like a flowing scroll painting, deconstructing the unique charm of the French Impressionist garden. Through three sets of paintings, a three-stage landscape space is created, allowing people to immerse themselves in the elegance and comfort of the French Impressionist garden.

The "Janting" garden from Japan explores the connection between human and nature by borrowing the "Shibui MoYo" pattern, a traditional Japanese pattern that often appears on kimonos and in architectural decorations. In the garden, the designer uses representative Japanese plants such as cherry blossom, pine trees, and bamboo, and combines them with the layout of the "Shibui MoYo" to create a tranquil, simple, and Zen-like space.

The "Fibonacci Vertical Garden" designed by the Singaporean team draws inspiration from the eternal beauty and harmonious rhythm embodied in the golden ratio (1:1.618), which is also known as the visual manifestation of the Fibonacci sequence. Just like the quietly blooming flowers in nature, the spirally ascending pine cones, and the meticulously carved lines in artistic masterpieces and architectural treasures, it showcases the perfect integration of mathematics and aesthetics.

The "Farm To Table" edible garden is a combination of plant and flower borders composed of native Chinese herbal medicines and fruits and vegetables. A unique landscape is created through planting frames, flower borders, potted plants, and brown gravel paving. There are also compost bins with recyclable and renewable energy sources in the garden.

The design concept of the "Cat's Showground" Garden is to combine the characteristics of cats with the park landscape. With cats being active and good at climbing, the designer uses the method of parametrically generating dynamic blocks randomly to construct a garden show area with varying heights. Various sculptures or silhouettes in the shape of cats are arranged, integrating artistic elements into the natural landscape to create a unique visual effect.

Among the retro apartment buildings of Sinan Mansions, colorful plants are patched together to form a "Memory Music Box." The cactus holds up fluffy stars. The music box spins, and a little ballerina girl dances gracefully.

Shanghai Botanical Garden will showcase over 2,500 new and distinctive plant varieties. The exhibition featured two dedicated sections – new and superior plants and rare plants.

The Qiantan area in the Pudong New Area will create a temporary riverside flower path, and the Qiantan Flower Market, and host the Early Spring Intangible Cultural Heritage Lifestyle Festival. Xuhui District will collaborate with art colleges to decorate historic buildings such as the Shanghai Conservatory of Music's Music Castle with floral arrangements, while hosting concerts, musical pop-ups, and other artistic interactions.

The Lingang sub-venue will launch a "Spring Arts Journey," replicating the colors of famous paintings through floral arrangements and integrating famous artworks, literature, music, and nature into a cohesive experience.