A team of designers has recreated popular tourist destinations in Penghu County using marine debris for the City/County Sponsored Gardens section of the Taichung World Flora Exposition.
The exhibition at Huludun Park (葫蘆墩公園) in Taichung’s Fengyuan District (豐原) is based on scenic areas of in the outlying island county, said Bruce Wu (吳成夫), the exhibition’s chief curator.
Three areas have been recreated using landscaping techniques: A stone pathway called “Moses Parts the Sea,” basalt columns and the “Twin Hearts Stone Weir,” said Wu, who is also an actor, travel writer and a former travel show host.
Photo courtesy of Wu Cheng-fu
The designers recreated “Moses Parts the Sea” by forming a mosaic using colored bottle caps, while the basalt columns were made of polystyrene and the “Twin Hearts Stone Weir” was created using buoys, he said, adding that all of the materials were collected during beach-cleaning events.
Cacti, agaves, aloe vera plants, Gaillardia pulchella — Penghu County’s official flower — and other common plants from the archipelago are to be added, Wu said.
The plants symbolize a strong vitality despite harsh conditions, he said.
A native of Penghu, Wu said he hopes that the exhibition would remind visitors that the ocean is overflowing with garbage and encourage them to work together to protect the oceans.
The exhibition’s organizers said they hope the display will raise awareness about the 14th World Congress of the Club of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World, which is to be held in Penghu from Thursday to Oct. 1.
Huludun Park is one of three venues of the Taichung World Flora Exposition, which is to open on Nov. 3 and run through April 24 next year.
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