The opening of the Taipei International Flora Expo’s Yuanshan Park area for its first trial day drew mixed reviews yesterday, with some praising the event’s attractions while others complained about insufficient signs and restrooms.
The expo had planned to open its door to only 5,000 invited guests, but many nearby residents came uninvited, bringing the total number of visitors to 12,960 and sparking concerns about guest rules.
MISINFORMATION
While accusing the media of giving out the wrong information about public participation on trial days, organizing committee director Chen Hsiung-wen (陳雄文) said the committee adopted a “flexible” approach on the first trial day and allowed everyone to enter the park.
He urged Taipei residents not to come to the expo uninvited until the last phase of the trial period, but remained vague when asked whether the organizing committee would follow the rules and keep out uninvited residents starting today.
Major complaints about the opening day yesterday were the unclear signs and the lack of restrooms and rest areas in the park, as well as the traffic congestion around the weekend shuttle bus lane on Minzu E and Minzu W roads, which are closed to all vehicles on Saturdays and Sundays for the duration of the expo.
Lin Wen-hua (林文華), a volunteer who was invited to visit the park, said he spent about 20 additional minutes driving to the expo site because of the blocked-off roads.
He lauded the flora arrangements in the park, but suggested that the organizers put up more signs and maps in the park.
Another guest surnamed Liao expressed her disappointment with the color and overall presentation of the flowers in the park, saying she enjoyed the flowers at the annual Yangmingshan Flower Festival more.
POWER OUTAGE
Two separate power outages in the morning also marred the first trial day.
Others gave it a “thumbs-up,” wowed by the bed of flowers and horticulture display.
Assessing the first trial day at a press conference, Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) thanked the visitors for their candid comments and asked for more feedbacks in the days to come.
“The goal of this trial operation is to find out as many flaws as possible and resolve them before the grand opening. We will collect comments from visitors and work on improving the situation immediately,” he said at the expo’s headquarters.
The trial operation will run for 20 days until Oct. 28 in four phases and an estimated 500,000 people are expected to visit the site and give comments.
The entire 91.8-hectare site, which includes Yuanshan Park, the Fine Arts Park, Xinsheng Park and Dajia Riverside Park, will be opened to all in the final phase of the trial run from Oct. 25 to Oct. 28.
The Taipei City Government aims to attract at least 8 million visitors worldwide when the expo formally opens from Nov. 6 to April 25 next year.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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