Coordination Bureau of Beijing Expo 2019 hosts a meeting centered around expo preparatory work on March 1 ( Photo by Coordination Bureau of Beijing Expo 2019)

Coordination Bureau of International Horticultural Exhibition 2019, Beijing, China (Beijing Expo 2019), held a meeting on March 1 to brief an International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) delegation led by AIPH president Bernard Oosterom on the latest expo preparatory work.

The meeting was chaired by Zhao Genwu, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Expo 2019 Organizing Committee. Zhou Jianping, deputy director of the Beijing Expo 2019 Coordination Bureau, briefed visitors on the latest preparatory work. Zhang Liang, vice director of Department of Trade and Investment Promotion, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and Liu Hong, secretary general of the China Flower Association, delivered speeches as well.

Bernard Oosterom said that the preparatory work was orderly and very productive and he looked forward to seeing an unforgettable and wonderful international horticultural exposition in Beijing in 2019.

Tim Briercliffe, secretary-general of AIPH, recommended that the Beijing government should take advantage of the exposition to speed up its Green City initiative, and cooperate with research institutions and universities to raise public environmental awareness.

After the meeting, Xia Zhanyi, deputy director of the Beijing Expo 2019 Organizing Committee, expressed his gratitude to Oosterom for AIPH’s support of the exposition’s preparatory work.

AIPH was founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1948 as the approved organizer of international horticultural exposition. The first international horticultural exposition was held in Rotterdam, Holland in 1960. Up to now, 37 different categories of international horticultural expos have been hosted globally.

According to the press conference, construction for the expo, including park venues, infrastructure, landscaping, and plumbing, will kick off this year. In addition, the construction of the Xingyan Expressway, second session of 110 State Road, and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway Yanqing section will be accelerated this year. Yanqing district will draft an environmental improvement plan in a bid to enhance the overall quality of the surrounding landscape. An International Horticultural Exposition Avenue connecting the expressway and International Horticultural Exposition Park will also be constructed.

The design collection for major buildings including the China Pavilion, the International Pavilion, the Plant Hall, the Life Experience Museum, and the Performing Arts Center has been completed. The expo organizing committee has reviewed all submissions from academicians, architects, and cutting-edge designers, and has selected three finalists for each building according to an“applicable, economic, green and beautiful” architectural approach. Architects are now enhancing the finalist designs with the aim of providing world-leading designs with Chinese and Beijing characteristics.

The exposition organizer will send out invitations to international exhibitors starting this year.