Shanghai gets ready for a cool visual feast of lotus and water lily

Credit: Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE

Caption: A lotus is in full bloom at Shanghai Guyi Garden

A cool visual feast will be presented across Shanghai with the annual Shanghai Lotus and Water Lily Exhibition set to open on Monday.

At Shanghai Guyi Garden, a Jiangnan-style classic garden with a 500-year history in suburban Jiading District, the main venue of the exhibition, over a thousand pots of renowned, unique and rare lotus varieties from home and abroad are blooming in the lawn exhibition area.

Among them, the garden's first internationally registered variety, Yilian Youmeng, makes a stunning debut. Paired with a spray system and wooden walkways, it looks like a fairyland.

Credit: Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE

Caption: A blooming scene at Guyi Garden

In the pond area, red, pink, golden and multicolored lotuses bloom in full splendor, and the water lily exhibition area boasts tropical, cold-hardy and other categories, with night-blooming water lilies lighting up the summer night like a galaxy.

During the exhibition, people can experience intangible cultural heritage items such as dough modeling, dyed and printed fabrics and lotus leaf dyeing, allowing them to touch the texture of traditional culture through hands-on creation.

There will also be exhibitions on the Jiangnan-style gardens, lotus culture seals and lotus calligraphy and painting at the same time.

Credit: Jiang Xiaowei / SHINE

Caption: A visitor takes photos of various potted lotus flowers.

Gourmets will be treated to a banquet featuring lotus-themed cuisines such as lotus root xiaolongbao (small steamed buns) and creative lotus dishes.

Zhabei Park in Jing'an District will strike a "lotus+art" chord, offering audio-visual revelry through musical pop-up and lotus markets. Huangxing Park in Yangpu District will create a "starry path" night market, where light corridors and cultural creative food weave a dreamy summer night.

At the same time, Shenyuan Garden in Shanghai Expo Culture Park in the Pudong New Area will invite you to experience the ancient art and romance of beating the heat.