A Garden by the Grand Canal, the 6th (Cangzhou) Garden Exposition Opens in N. China Hebei Province

The 6th (Cangzhou) Garden Exposition of Hebei Province grandly opened on May 26 in the central zone of Cangzhou, China’s northern city. Nineteen activities in five categories, including academic exchanges, gardening, skill competitions and cultural exhibitions, will be presented until the end of August, according to Cangzhou Municipal Government.

With the theme of “Thousand Miles of Thoroughfare, Grand Beauty of the Grand Canal”, from site selection, planning, construction and planning of various cultural activities, the exposition aims to inherit Cangzhou’s Grand Canal culture, display garden art and promote ecological civilization.

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, a world cultural heritage, runs through the Exposition Park from north to south. Cangzhou has elaborately built a Grand Canal scenic belt — a city exhibition park and a specialized plant exhibition on both banks. Last year, the Cangzhou section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal navigated afresh, which connected this cultural beauty with the Exposition Park, providing an all-factor tourism supply for domestic and foreign visitors. In recent years, while building the Exposition Park along the Grand Canal, Cangzhou recreated the historic buildings Nanchuan and Langyin on both sides. 

The China Grand Canal Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Hall is the most prominent centralized exhibition place along the Grand Canal and is in harmony with the Exposition Park as well. Through the panoramic tour, skill experience, scene restoration and live demostration, the Hall displays the unique and diverse folk arts of Cangzhou, allowing visitors to fully experience the charm of the Grand Canal while visiting modern garden art.

The natural ecological scenery and the intangible cultural heritage are organically integrated with the Exposition Park’s courtyard architecture and landscape, which has become a dazzling pearl on the 216-kilometer Grand Canal scenic belt in the central area of Cangzhou.

It is reported that, since 2017, Hebei Province’s provincial garden fairs and the five Garden Expositions have increased the green park space by 13,050 mu for the host cities. The green space rate of urban built-up areas in Hebei Province has exceeded 39%, and the per capita budget area has reached more than 15 square meters.