Rubber duck making its Beijing debut at Garden Expo Lake

A giant yellow rubber duck, which has gotten a warn reception in more than 10 cities around the world will soon be paddling its way around a pond in Beijing’s Garden Expo Park, Sept 6 - 23, the organizers of the Beijing Design Week reported recently.

The huge rubber duck, 18-meters-high, taller than the 16.5-meter version displayed in Hong Kong, is the work of a Dutch artist, Florentijn Hofman, who explained that the adorable animal is a symbol of joy and of people’s childhood memories. This is similar to the idea behind the Garden Expo Park – a “Garden city, beautiful home” – since both show a high regard to nature and an emphasis on family values and fun.

Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman is at a press conference in Beijing showing models of the giant rubber duck, June 22, 2013. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In making its debut on the mainland, Beijing’s Garden Expo Park was thought to be a fairly ideal spot for the rubber duck, because it is an urban landmark in the capital and has the 246-hectare Garden Expo Lake, which is large enough to hold the giant animal. And there’s a viewing trail along the lake that can hold a large number of visitors.

Garden Expo Park is one of the venues for this year’s Beijing Design Week and is itself a work of design, with China’s first national garden museum, Chine Garden Museum, which is a panorama of landscape art and culture. Top designers from the United States, Europe and Japan took part in designing parts of it. And, its Jinxiu Valley, which used to be a part of the Yongding river, is now a major attraction and scenic spot with beautiful flowers and waterfalls, and an innovative use of an old landfill site.

The organizers of Beijing Garden Expo are planning various activities for the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, Sept 19 - 21, and the guest rubber duck. Visitors can celebrate the traditional Chinese festival with a painting contest, photo competition, and parent-child games. They can also share their travel logs or photos on media platforms, such as a micro-blog and Wechat, and their ideas on beauty and happiness.