Ground-level view of the Creativity Pavilion with its reflecting pool.

For those of you who are still thinking of last year's fascinating Shanghai World Expo experience or who regret missing it, there's good news.

The Xi'an International Horticultural Expo, running from April 28 to Oct 22, provides another chance to take in an awe-inspiring, breathtaking experience.

While the Shanghai expo presented technological gems from all over the world, the Xi'an expo provides a rare look at nature's own gems, combined with human ingenuity.

It is located in the Chan-ba Ecological District in northeastern Xi'an, on a 418-hectare space, about two-fifths of which is water.

Its basic composition can be described as two circles, two axes, and five nodes.

The circles are a primary one containing most of the gardens and parks and a secondary one with auxiliary facilities.

The axes are a main north-south axis and a secondary east-west one. The "nodes" refers to five parks on the expo site with the names Chang'an, Creativity, Five Continents, Poly-tech, and Experience.

The expo's various examples of architecture include the following:

Four Landmarks

These are the Chang'an Tower, the Guangyun Entrance, the Pavilion, and the Greenhouse. They are a must-see and express the expo's combination of modern technology and national heritage.

The Chang'an Tower, which sits on a hill, offers a vintage point from which to appreciate the site's beauty. It pays tribute to the classical Tang tower while incorporating modern elements.

The Guangyun Entrance introduces visitors to the expo's 60-meter-wide avenue bordered by water and dotted with trees and flowerbeds.

The Pavilion sits on the north-south axis and contains the latest in horticultural technology and achievements.

The Greenhouse holds rare plants from different parts and climate zones around the world.

Nine Master Gardens

This is the work of nine prominent architects, dome especially for the expo and expressing the inclusiveness of traditional Chinese culture.

The Quadrangle, designed by a Chinese architect, takes its inspiration from the traditional Chinese courtyard and is intended to give visitors a serene view of a Chinese garden.

The Loess Garden shows the Danish architect's view of Chinese culture, using clay to symbolize the basis of Xi'an's prosperity.

The Labyrinth is a bold attempt by an American architect to explore American culture within the context of Chinese architecture.

The Landscape and Chinese Map are meant to be a correlation of Chinese landscape painting and horticultural art. The French architect wanted a vivid, yet natural Chinese map.

The Digging Garden reflects the German architect's childhood dream of digging down, all the way through the earth, to China.

The Passage, by an Austrian architect, is a romantic, small garden that tracks the passage of time as if it were a sonnet.

The Botanist demonstrates the British architect's attempt to show the diverse flora of the Qinling Mountains in a harmonious environment.

The Bridges tells the story of a journey of humans through life and across the bridges over the river of melancholy.

The Dutch designer wanted to depict life as a continuous, winding path.

The Labyrinth of Mountainous Paths reflects the Spanish architect's effort to combine Chinese landscape painting, the vibrant colors of an oil painting, and concepts of the modern deconstructionist thought.

Four Feature Parks

The Bonsai Park contains a display of Xi'an's many plants. The careful arrangement of trails, stones, trees and plants expresses Chinese bonsai art, and conveys a sense of tranquility.

Qinling is intended to express the scenery and culture of the Qinling Mountains. The stones with poems engraved, the four treasures of the Qingling Mountains (golden monkey, panda, crested ibis and takin), and the rare plants express a harmony between nature and culture.

Chang'an is dedicated to the unique culture of Shaanxi and has a theme of "interpreting new green, ecological, Chinese styles". Its culture is one of bamboo, herbal medicines, and plants in the same space, an integration of traditional Shaanxi culture and more recent achievements.

Landscape and Poetic Chang'an is meant to recreate poetic expression and the beautiful botanical gardens described in China's Book of Songs.

These sites highlighted above, will guarantee that a visit to the expo will be nourishing and refreshing experience. In no other place can the clever integration of nature's beauty and human endeavor be seen, and rarely is such a vintage point available so that people can appreciate traditional Shaanxi culture in such a modern context.

(China Daily 04/29/2011 page6)