Taipei City Government

If somehow you have missed all the hype to this point, here's a reminder that the muchanticipated 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo is just around the corner. The city government is hosting the gala, and this is the first time that Taiwan has been chosen as host site for an International Association of Horticultural Producers (IAHP) event—and just the seventh time for Asia. The fun will go on for six full months, starting on October 9 and opening to the general public on November 6.

Great effort has been poured into the most colorful event possible, from the themes chosen to the facilities to the parade of activities. The distinctive main theme is“River, Flower, New Horizon”. There will be four main exposition areas, 14 exhibition halls, and over 70 hectares of outdoor sculpted gardens affording different vistas of the city—downtown, amidst parkland, at river's side—giving you great views into this city's gardens of delight and at the same time into this country's culture and high-tech achievements. The city government is joining forces with 20 other cities and counties to sing the praises of Taiwan's rich cultural tapestry during the Flora Expo, with a cavalcade of activities introducing the special character of each place and the unique goods and produce associated with each. Such happenings as Taoyuan Week and Tainan Week will make your visit a veritable Garden of Eden of fun and discovery.

EVA Air“Flora Expo”Cabins – Gardens in the Sky
Already, participants from 40 countries, 80 cities, and 126 organizations have signed up to come. To welcome them on their trip across land and sea to Ilha Formosa, the city government has teamed up with EVA Air to design an attractive series of 40 items for use in passenger cabins, such as paper cups and headrest covers that carry colorful Flora Expo promotional designs. Four cabins are decked out with the festive additions. Even the models of planes sold as souvenir items are redone in Flora Expo designs. And in June, EVA will start handing out the one million special Flora Expo boarding passes and luggage tags, giving passengers colorful little reminders of where they should be coming in autumn.

The four decorated cabins are on EVA A330-200 aircraft, and you'll be able to book a seat on one right up until the end of the Expo next year. Right now, these bright “gardens in the sky” are being featured on routes to Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Seoul, Hong Kong, Nanjing, and Bangkok.

Souvenir with Taiwanese Flavors
A wide range of commemorative souvenir items has been designed for the Flora Expo, all created to hold both sentimental value and to serve a practical function. The Expo's mascots are pastelbright flower fairies, and you'll be able to buy postit and magnets, badges and breastpins, EasyCard stickers, Polo shirts and hats, and even absorbent coasters, all emblazoned with the sprightly little characters. There's also cute, spar kling flower fairy figurines made with eco-friendly glass, plus a collector series of Flora Expo plates and a series of mugs and coasters, all featuring gold foil, fine detail, and high-quality craftsmanship.

You can check out and buy all these offerings online, or you can head over to Taipei City Hall, where a special Flora Expo promotion area has been set up on the first floor. You'll also find promotional boutiques at the National Theater and National Concert Hall, National Taiwan Museum, Nangang Exhibition Hall, and Taiwan Handicraft Promotion Center where you can browse a selection of the coasters, T-shirts, and other souvenirs. The Expo organizers are also preparing other unique souvenir items that will be unveiled one by one as the opening date approaches, including splendid“Flower Fairy Fragrance Figurines” and a series of cups, flashlights, vases, and other wares designed and crafted by artists that work with bamboo.

The culture and history of each of Taiwan's many aboriginal tribes are unique, and the artifacts created by each people have their own distinctive personality. To join in on the Flora Expo celebrations the city's Indigenous Peoples Commission has staged the“Flower Power—Creative Aboriginal Product Design Competition”. All tribes submitted innovative designs using the flowers commonly seen in their home districts or flowers specially used in festivals, incorporating the tribe's distinctive traditional totems and myths. Among the flowers you'll see in the entries are lily, betel-nut flower, djulis flower, mountain litsea, Alishan thistle, dendrobium, and shell flower.

There were four entry categories: packaging, handicrafts, articles for daily use, and fashionable attire and accessories. You'll cer tainly see something qui te new and different in native artistic creation, whether it's handbags, clothing, stationery, plates, vases, nightlights, or a host of other uniquely“aboriginal” designs, with aesthetics that embrace both the chic and fashionable as well as the functional.

The winning ent r ies have al ready gone into commercial production and will be on display, and for sale, starting in October during the Flora Expo at the Taipei Soccer Stadium in the“Aboriginal Theme Store”. They'll be accompanying a special series of 10 representative aboriginal souvenir items,the list including embroidered lovers' pouches, brooch sets, eye-motif coasters that capture the protective blessings of ancestral spirits, and incense-stick holders made from the slate traditionally used in village architecture.