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Updated Sunday, December 21, 2008 9:23 am TWN, By Erika Wang, The China Post



	A floral arrangement shaped in the form of an ox stands next to a sitting partner shaped by wires at the Daan Forest Park in Taipei City. The display is one of many that are featured at the 2009 Taipei Flower Show, which opens today and runs through Jan. 18, 2009, with a theme of oxen in honor of the upcoming Year of the Ox in the Chinese lunar calendar. (Erika Wang, The China Post) More Photos (3)

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Taipei Flower Show opens today at Daan Forest Park

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taipei City’s Daan Forest Park will be invaded by a herd of colorful, eco-friendly “oxen” starting today with the opening of the 2009 Taipei Flower Show, an event that attracts thousands of visitors each year.

Over 300,000 potted vases displaying more than 100 varieties of flowers will decorate the park through Jan. 18, 2009. The show’s main protagonist this year is the ox, in honor of the animal featured in the next Chinese calendar year.

As part of the show’s activities, there will be a treasure hunt every Sunday of the event between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Prizes will be handed out to those who find and collect stickers of three cartoon gardeners especially designed for the event.

“The show is so beautiful!” said Nguyen Thi Hanh, who moved from Vietnam six months ago. “I like Taiwan’s landscape and Taiwan’s people very much!” she added with a smile. Her friend, another Vietnamese Nguyen Thi Huong, agreed. “I like the flowers very much! They are all very beautiful!” she said enthusiastically.

“We walk in the park every morning, and this is a whole different park with all the flowers!” said Mary Sparrow, a U.S. missionary who moved from Colorado four months ago. “The sculptures with flowers are amazing! I like the animal-shaped plants ... This is just fantastic!”

Sparrow, who will be spending this Christmas for the first time in Taiwan, said the holiday will be quite different for her this year. “This will be a Christmas that I will always remember — with flowers!” she said smilingly.

The Taipei Flower Show is free to the public and the park is open 24 hours. Visitors can enjoy the unique arrangements of theme areas such as “Colorful, Blessed and Magical Cows,” “Spin Heaven and Earth,” “Heureux (happy),” “A Winding wonderland,” “An Ecological Wonderland,” “Corner Garden,” and “Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

More information is available at the show’s Web site: www.2009taipeiflowershow.com.tw.

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