Great minds think alike. By the same token, great green concepts definitely will be appreciated by all eco-friendly minds. This analogy vividly depicts the recent accolade on sustainability awarded to Rome, Nuovo Circondario Imolese of Bologna, Barcelona and Stuttgart in China. 

Rome, Nuovo Circondario Imolese of Bologna and Barcelona, which participated in the 2021 International Horticulture Expo (IHC) in Yangzhou, have won respectively the Golden, Silver and Bronze awards for Outdoor International Gardens. Another participating European city Stuttgart was awarded a Certificate of Honour for its participation in the International Pavilion. The City of Rome has been particularly recognised for its contribution on cultural exchange, with a photo exhibition and a hybrid tourism promotion event in the pavilion.

The Yangzhou IHC was staged between April and October 2021 welcoming some 2.1 million visitors. With the support of International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) of EU, the aforementioned cities designed their gardens with the concepts of green design, promotion of amiable urban environments, reducing pollution and carbon emissions, increasing energy use efficiency and encouraging urban agriculture.

It was exceptional that the iconic cities of Europe were invited to present their garden design in this high-profile expo of horticulture in China. This was a great example that highlighted the co-operation between EU and China in enabling cultural exchange. With the support and coordination of IURC, the European designers did all planning and design works online to circumvent the disturbance of pandemic. The actual construction and rendering were carried out by Chinese contractors. More importantly, the garden designs reflected authentic aesthetics concepts of Europe, yet adding a flavour of inspiration from Chinese culture.              

The influence of the European cities’ sustainability advocacy continues after the 2021 Yangzhou IHC had been concluded, as the entire expo site has been converted into a public space.

In addition, the successful participation of the European cities have encouraged more cooperation with Chinese cities. Bologna and Yangzhou agreed to co-establish a green design research centre to drive sustainability development in December 2021.

(Photo: International Pavilion)

(Photo: The award-winning Gardens of Rome, NCI of Bologna and Barcelona, as well as Stuttgart booth.)

(Photo: Consul General of Italy visited Rome Garden.)

(Photo: URC-China Team met with Mr. YU Ting Vice Mayor of Yangzhou.)