Why are Britain's top botanical gardens targeting the Chinese market? The British national treasure "Eden Botanical Garden" is coming to China. The aquaculture farms in Qingdao and the loess land in Yan'an will be transformed into beautiful botanical gardens. The location of the "Garden of Eden Botanical Garden" used to be just an abandoned pit, but now it has conquered tourists from all over with its broad vision and imaginative landscape design. Its iconic biological greenhouse contains the world's largest artificial tropical rainforest, which has become an integral part of Cornwall's local landscape. Sixteen years ago, the "Eden Botanical Garden" was officially opened to the public. Today, it has gradually become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the UK, attracting more than 19 million tourists every year and generating 1.7 billion pounds for the local economy. As soon as you enter the "Eden Botanical Garden" you can see flowers, plants and giant trees (such as kapok trees and balsa trees) from all over the world. This huge sunken botanical garden is covered by a circular dome made of special polycarbonate material, which makes you feel like you are in a lunar settlement. This unique topography has also earned the "Eden Botanical Garden" many nicknames: "Gardening Expo", "Temple of Economic Botany", "The Most Shocking Classroom in the World" and so on. But in the view of Sir Tim Smit, the founder of the project, the "Eden Botanic Garden" should bring everyone an amazing and shared cultural experience, where people and people, people and nature can be ingeniously connected. Get in touch. Now, the "Eden Botanical Garden" is about to come to China with such a mission. In 2020, the first overseas project of "Eden Botanical Garden" will land in Qingdao, a sunny coastal city. Qingdao has two major features, one is the good weather all year round, and the other is the annual Oktoberfest. The site of the botanical garden was once a salt farm, and later it was used as a shrimp farm for a period of time. The environment suffered serious damage, and now it is gradually being restored and utilized. It is located at the confluence of two rivers and has abundant water resources. It is estimated that the total cost of the project is expected to exceed 100 million pounds. Regardless of the cost and scale, it will surpass the "Eden Botanic Garden" in Cornwall, England. Generally speaking, it is surprising that Eden Garden’s first overseas project is located in China - China is faced with many environmental crises and pollution problems, and social enterprises have not yet achieved great development. However, Eden's entry into China also shows that China is changing and an emerging green tourism market is emerging. The Chinese government has officially declared war on environmental pollution and regards environmental education as a top priority. Using cultural attractions to raise environmental awareness while actively promoting the development of the country's tourism industry may lay the foundation for the development of the ecological landscape industry in the 21st century. Using a barren land to create a win-win legend for ecology and economy is also the wish of Chinese investors in the Eden Project. In the latest "13th Five-Year Plan" (2015-2020) economic development plan, the Chinese government has formulated a series of aggressive goals to reduce carbon emissions and create a clean energy revolution. For example, the carbon emission intensity in 2020 will be reduced by 18% compared with 2015; the proportion of renewable energy in the energy structure will be increased to 15%. Just this month, the Chinese government promulgated a new Soil Pollution Prevention and Control Law in the hope of cracking down on industrial pollution. Smit accepted our visit in his office in Cornwall. He said: "In today's China, we can see that economic development has given birth to higher spiritual pursuits. The Chinese have realized that if the living environment is severely damaged, If it is destroyed, it will be meaningless to achieve more development.” At the same time, China has gradually built the tourism industry into another driving force for economic development. According to predictions by China's State Council, China's tourism industry investment is expected to increase to 2 trillion yuan (approximately 147 billion U.S. dollars) by 2020, accounting for more than 12% of GDP. The Eden Project arrived precisely in line with these goals. In addition to being optimistic about China's growing awareness of environmental protection, the Eden Project also hopes to promote the prosperity and development of the experiential tourism industry. Compared with the superficial sightseeing and novelty hunting, experiential tourism emphasizes the interactive experience of tourists during the tourism process. The 2016 McKinsey report "Chinese Consumers Go Modern" pointed out that the growth in China's market breadth is nearing its end. The report mentioned: "Consumers pay more attention to selectivity when consuming, switching from choosing products to choosing services, and from choosing popular products to choosing high-end products. They pursue a relaxed and moderate life that focuses on health, family, and experience. "The McKinsey report also found that people are becoming more and more picky in their consumption expenditures. Life services and experiential consumption account for an increasing proportion of people's income, and more than half of them plan to increase their spending on leisure. and entertainment expenditures (China’s movie box office revenue increased by 50% last year, which confirms this trend from one aspect). Moreover, Chinese consumers believe that traveling can enhance the relationship between family members. Among the consumers surveyed, 74% respondents said that traveling has helped them improve the relationship between family members. Dr. Mike Mond, a leader in plant care and horticulture, has been involved with the Eden Yan'an Project from the beginning. He said: "The government is more concerned about the economic income that the project will bring to the local area. The project must not only drive tourism, but also stimulate employment in the agriculture and construction industries, thus promoting the regeneration of resources rather than aggravating the consumption of existing resources." Mond said: "Victorian gardens in England are full of Chinese plants. Over the past 150 years, we have cultivated the best magnolias and rhododendrons from them, and now these beautiful plants have become part of our botanic gardens and all over the UK. They are the most important landscape plants in cities and even in Europe and North America. However, China does not treat its own flora and fauna so carefully, and they do not clearly distinguish which plants should be the best choice for urban greening and hillside stabilization. "Trump was elected. Since the President of the United States, the geopolitical situation between China and the West is changing. It is in this context that the "Eden Botanical Garden" project takes place. Under the leadership of Trump, the United States is gradually withdrawing from the global environmental cooperation alliance. At the same time, more and more voices are calling on China to take over the banner of global climate leader. The UK has just kicked off its "Brexit" negotiations. At this unprecedented critical moment, the UK should actively strengthen its relations with China and consolidate bilateral trade cooperation. Of course, Smit also sees potential economic opportunities in energy and environmental cooperation with China. "What surprises me most is that although Western countries claim to have business vision, they turn a blind eye to the potential economic opportunities that may come from becoming a global leader in environmental protection technology." "Trump's election as president of the United States may be a milestone for China in a century. I think this is like giving China a penalty, which greatly increases China's chances of getting on the podium. China's leaders may have a chance to prove to the world that China will open its doors to the world. We should be open-minded rather than closing ourselves off. "However, we will have to wait and see whether China can seize this opportunity. Source: Chinadialogue (2017-07-18) (compiled by PIDC)
