Welcoming the first day of the New Year’s holiday, little flower fairies descend upon the “2017 Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival”

Hundreds of children donned leopard cat headpieces and had leopard cat face paintings, transforming into the mascot of the flower expo—the leopard cat—adorably charming all the flower-viewing visitors. (Photo by Chen Shih-chung)

The 2017 Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival welcomed the first day of the New Year’s holiday, attracting many families to the park to enjoy the blossoms. To share the joy with the public, the city government specially invited children from the kindergarten affiliated with Houcu Elementary School in Taichung to dress up as playful and adorable flower fairies, strutting down the vibrant flower fields. The event also gathered hundreds of kids wearing leopard cat headpieces and face paint, transforming them into the flower expo’s mascot—the leopard cat—delightfully charming all the flower viewers.

Chen Sheng-shan, Director of Taichung City Government’s Tourism Bureau, stated that this year’s Flower Carpet Festival serves as a warm-up for the 2018 Flower Expo, incorporating the GNP (Green, Nature, People) concept of the expo. The exhibition area features special floral displays themed around the flower expo’s mascot, the leopard cat family. On the first day of the New Year’s holiday, they specially arranged a fashion show by little flower fairies and invited a hundred children to dress up as little leopard cats to promote the lively Flower Carpet Festival and to preview the upcoming 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition.

Onlookers, seeing the incredibly cute little flower fairies and leopard cats, as well as the beautiful sea of blooming flowers at the Flower Carpet Festival, eagerly took out their phones to take photos and check in, capturing the joyful moments.

The Tourism Bureau stated that due to traffic control around the festival venue during the Flower Carpet Festival, private cars are not allowed to enter the exhibition area. The public is urged to make use of the free shuttle buses. The shuttle buses to the exhibition area run from 8:20 AM to 3:00 PM, with return services available until 5:00 PM. Additionally, the city government has also arranged accessible shuttle buses for those with mobility needs, offering thoughtful barrier-free services. Information about these accessible buses can be found on the official Flower Carpet Festival website and Facebook fan page.

The 2017 Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival at the Houli Flower Field Green Corridor runs until January 7th of next year. Coinciding with New Year’s celebrations, the city government will hold a grand “2018 Shining Stars Welcome the Flower Expo” New Year’s Eve party at Lihpao Land in Houli on December 31st. The Taichung City Government welcomes both domestic and international tourists to enjoy the flowers at the Flower Carpet Festival and then experience Taichung’s New Year countdown.