Giant basket of flowers brings blessings for National Day

For an eighth successive year, the main decoration in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square for National Day celebrations is a basket-shaped flower arrangement.

Chief designer Lan Hailang, who has worked on the displays for more than 20 years, said the thematic continuity is designed to save energy and protect the environment.

Lan, a senior engineer at the Beijing Institute of Landscape and Traditional Architectural Design and Research, said the design is similar to ensure the steel framework used last year will not go to waste. However, the detailed design of the flowers in the huge basket changes every year.

This year, the main flowers in the basket are anthuriums, surrounded by sunflowers and carnations, which Lan said signified all Chinese people united as one.

"Another important reason for this arrangement is that we have 10 additional flower terraces with new designs to express different good wishes to be displayed along Chang'an Avenue, and we hope they can attract visitors from the square to the avenue," Lan said

A large number of visitors flock to the square every October to celebrate the weeklong National Day holiday and view the flowers, putting pressure on transport infrastructure and prompting security concerns. It is hoped the 10 terraces along the avenue will lure some of the crowd away from the square this year.

Lan, in his mid-40s, has helped design the capital's floral decorations for National Day since 1997.

"I feel very lucky to be part of this project, so that we can send the best wishes to our country through flowers," he said. "I've never felt bored with designing, even though I have been doing this for more than 20 years.

"It seems that my whole life will be connected with trees and flowers."

Lan said he started growing flowers when he was 6 and has loved doing so ever since. He went to Beijing Forestry University, majoring in garden design, and studied city planning as a postgraduate, saying it helped him design flower arrangements that suited a city.

"It's all about the teamwork for huge flower arrangement projects for big days," he said. "It cannot be completed by one person."

Design work for this year's flower arrangement, which started in March, was completed by a team of 60 people, with 10 core members. During the process, the team sought thematic suggestions from experts at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Flower experts also gave them suggestions about the types of flowers that could be used for certain effects.

"It's like magic when those flower terraces appear at several locations in the city overnight," Lan said. "It's just like a present for all the citizens from us, bringing surprise and joy to the people. It's also a gift to our city."

The huge basket-shaped flower arrangement in Tian'anmen Square, themed "blessings to China", and the 10 terraces along Chang'an Avenue feature a total of about 2 million flowers, according to Jie Jun, director of the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau's afforestation division, which was responsible for turning the design into flower beds. The main colors are yellow and red, the colors of China's national flag.

The main flower arrangement in the center of the square is 17 meters high, with the basket 15.3 meters high and 50 meters in diameter at the base.

dujuan@chinadaily.com.cn