【By Nancy T. Lu】 Taiwan has the reputation of a butterfly orchid kingdom. And Taiwan’s beautiful orchids are not meant to blush unseen. In fact, locally grown and cultivated orchids, which are greatly admired by horticulturists worldwide, are fanning great interest at the Taiwan International Orchid Show 2009 in Houbi Township, Tainan County.
Expert orchid growers and breeders in Taiwan have brought out blooms with fantastic shapes and brilliant colors, taking away the breath of visitors at the Taiwan Orchid Plantation Project in Houbi Township, Tainan County.
The annual event organized primarily to give a boost to the local orchid growing industry has gathered participants in an area once occupied by sugar mills and refineries in Taiwan’s erstwhile Sugarlandia.
The flower event last year occupied an area of 3,000 pings. But the organizers this time, undaunted by the global economic downturn, have rented a space measuring 4,300 pings to realize the show.
The Taiwan International Orchid Show 2009 features four pavilions, requiring six hours to fully cover at a leisurely pace, according to an experienced local guide. The main pavilion features enormous floral displays of the Taiwan Orchid Growers Association and the Taiwan Orchid Breeders Society, among others, as main indoor highlights.
“The biggest orchid display here,” pointed out Vincent Chia, the deputy secretary-general of the Taiwan Orchid Growers Association, “took four or five days to set up. No less than 7,000 orchid sprays were needed to realize the landscape design of unprecedented height. This particular showcase could easily cost NT$1million in just the floral material requirements alone, including Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, Vanda, and Cattleya varieties.” Another corner in the same pavilion has tapped less orchid varieties but these are of a more expensive kind.
Still another pavilion at the Taiwan International Orchid Show 2009 gathers the competing orchids and puts them on exhibit. A third pavilion has orchids of outstanding elegance and brilliance in the spotlight. Buyers tend to shop for the orchids of personal appeal here.
The lifestyle pavilion, which is being introduced for the first time at the orchid show this year, tries to relate the creative industries to lifestyle.
Tainan County Magistrate Su Wan-zhi showed up at the lifestyle pavilion on Tuesday, wearing a tie with bold orchid design. He sat down to examine a unique tea set being retailed at NT$6,000. The teapot with orchid motif had the shape of a handbag. The two teacups had unique plates to support them against all odds.
The lifestyle pavilion’s decorative cylinder lanterns up on the wall catch the public eye because of the colorful orchid designs. Even Tainan County Magistrate Su noticed them. In addition to accessories for the home interior, locally developed furniture designs are also on view.
Angel Art has produced note pads and stationeries with interesting orchid designs for souvenir shoppers to buy and take home.
Countries like the United States, Great Britain, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are participating in the orchid show in Tainan County this year. Buyers from around the world are having a heyday shopping for some of the most beautiful blooms. Taipei residents seeking to check out the Taiwan International Orchid Show 2009 can take the Taiwan High Speed Rail to Chiayi. A shuttle bus brings visitors to the Taiwan Orchid Plantation Project. Nearby are recreational facilities, including museums, for visitors to enjoy.The Tainan County Government has been renting the no-longer-operational sugar refineries as well as mills and putting the enormous spaces to good use.