Beijing International Flower Port in Shunyi District, Beijing, is an agricultural complex using smart technology. There is a large public park with flowers, sculptures and a long water feature (similar to the long pool at Silversands).
Butterfly display at Beijing International Flower Port. Photo: SLCT
Within the park is what I call Butterfly World, because when we went into an oversized greenhouse, or I guess more correctly an atrium, there were live butterflies everywhere! In shadow boxes, butterflies from all over the world were on display, and in another salon, stunning artworks were made from butterfly wings!
Mandala made from butterfly wings, Beijing International Flower Port. Photo: SLCT
Leaving the atrium and saying goodbye to the butterflies, we wandered out into the park to enjoy the really lovely weather. While the park is beautiful, the complex also functions as a flower production, research and development, exhibition and display space, for trading and tourism. On the day we visited, several groups were doing fashion photoshoots among a rainbow of tulips.
Tulips in bloom at Beijing International Flower Port. Photo: SLCT
Walking through the park, I felt a deep longing for the Botanic Gardens of my childhood, the present site of the Ministerial Complex of the Government of Grenada. Every time I have to do business there, I swear, it is not the walking uphill to the reception that bothers me, it is the blatant disrespect for the history of the place and the constant seeking to perfect the uglification of what could be an inviting landscape.