Huge flower basket set for Tian'anmen Square

A huge flower basket arrangement with the theme "blessings to China" will be installed in Tian'anmen Square as part of the decoration plan drawn up for the square and Chang'an Avenue for the National Day holiday in October.

The Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau unveiled the plan on Thursday, saying that construction work began on Wednesday and is expected to be finished by Sept 25.

Besides the main basket, 10 flower terraces bearing different good wishes to the country and showing the nation's achievements will be displayed along Chang'an Avenue.

"Greening professionals will plant flowers covering a total area of 7,000 square meters between Jianguomen and Fuxingmen along Chang'an Avenue to create a celebratory atmosphere," said Liu Mingxing, head of the bureau's afforesting division.

The main flower arrangement in the center of the square, which has been an annual National Day decoration since 2011, will be 18 meters high this year. The flower container at its base will have a diameter of 45 meters.

"The shape of the base is a sunflower, with the meaning of people's unity," Liu said.

The overall area of flower decorations in Tian'anmen Square will be 5,050 square meters.

The 10 flower terraces along Chang'an Avenue have adopted different types of flowers to showcase the country's development with various themes, said Yan Hongfei, a designer from the Beijing Institute of Landscape and Traditional Architectural Design and Research.

"For instance, a flower terrace with the theme of high-quality development has been designed with elements of a high-speed maglev train, artificial intelligence, 5G, chips and block chain," he said. "Another terrace with the theme of innovation is designed with the Earth as the main background and children, balloons, musical notes and petals. It will give people a feeling of peace, cooperation, friendship and a promising future."

Chen Ju, deputy chief engineer at Beijing Florascape, said, "According to the plan, the whole decoration project will use more than 200 types of plants－both imported and local."

She said dozens of brightly colored flowers will make their debut on the terraces. Up to 15 types of imported flowers will be used for the first time.