The Taipei Bonsai Show opened at the Shilin Official Residence Park (士林官邸公園) on Friday and is to run through Sept 15.
Bonsai — the practice of cultivation and shaping small trees growing in a container — is different from poetry and painting, as it is a living piece of art, the Taipei Department of Public Works said.
The department said it invited bonsai artists from across the nation to produce pieces for the exhibition and it received more than 60.
Photo: Lin Chia-yu, Taipei Times
Many of the pieces are rare or long-living trees, such as the broad-leaved podocarpus, the black pine and the orange jessamine, it said, adding that the pieces have a combined age of more than 1,000 years.
Bonsai artist Amy Liang (梁悅美) said that the work that she put into growing the trees helped her fight off depression.
“There was no medication then to help treat the condition,” Liang said at the opening ceremony, adding that it was her father who pointed her toward bonsai after he read in medical journals that plants could help with psychological conditions.
Photo: Hsieh Wu-hsiung, Taipei Times
She became so engrossed in learning about bonsai that depression has not been an issue since then, she said.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that the value of bonsai lies in the patience and perseverance it develops.
The Taoyuan Land Art Festival, which also opened on Friday, is to run through Sept. 22.
The festival is at the Danan Forest Park (大湳森林公園), with ancillary exhibits at the Taoyuan Municipal Children’s Art Museum, the West Hill Pond Ecopark, the Lakeside Park and the Jhongda Park, the Taoyuan City Government said.
Pieces have been made by Taiwanese and artists from Australia, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the US, China, Singapore and France, it said, adding that the festival also features other displays, talks, an international forum, 40 light shows and 155 artistic performances by domestic and foreign workshops and troupes.
The Bade (八德) Police Precinct said that it would deploy personnel to help ease traffic congestion around festival sites, as it coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival.
People should use public transport as much as possible to attend events in the area, the police said.
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