China’s springtime show goes as planned but visitors must wear masks

JIANGSU, China: The annual Tulip Culture Festival at Dafeng Holland Flower Park usually takes place to celebrate a new springtime. This year, post COVID-19, this attraction receives not just visitors but a lot of world media attention. 

FloraCulture International interviews Mr Miao Yongfeng, director of the Dafeng Holland Flower Park.

Q1 Overall, how are things going at Dafeng Holland Flower Park?

“It is a return to normal operations—the new normal, resting on right, epidemic prevention measures.”

Q2 Is the Tulip Culture Festival attracting visitors this year? 

“The Tulip Culture Festival went ahead as scheduled this year. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the peak number of visitors this year was more than 60,000 on one day (6 April), with an average of about 20,000 visitors per day.”

Q3 The theme park is usually open all-year-round, was it forced to close during the coronavirus outbreak?

“The park had to shut from 25 January until 20 February. Usually, it is open all-year-round, and we would only close the park for one week between the flower shows, to change the flowers.”

Q4 How are the attendance levels in April 2020 in comparison to the same month in 2019? 

“Visitor numbers have declined by 40% compared to last year.”

Q5 How has Dafeng had to change post-COVID-19? 

“We have in place to strengthen epidemic prevention measures, environmental monitoring, to eliminate all health risks.”

 Q6 More practically speaking, how are your visitors monitored?

“Daily contact with crowds of tourists is inevitable. Visitors are required to have their temperature checked at the gate, to show their health certificates and wear protective masks.”

Q8 Is there a maximum number of visitors allowed per hour, per day, per m²?

“There are no more than 10,000 visitors allowed entrance per hour, and there are no more than 60,000 visitors allowed per day.”

Q9 Do you have mapped-out walking routes for the visitors?

“No, we did not use special routing, because we are doing an excellent job in epidemic prevention and detection work at the gates. The routes are the same as always.”

Q10 What about catering, are restaurants open as usual or do you only work with kiosks?

“All the restaurants have opened in an orderly manner after the government control notice. Now they are fully open and operational.”

Q11 Under normal circumstances, your park attracts many visitors from abroad. Have overseas travellers visited this year?

“There have been foreign tourists, include international businessmen invited by the governments, they have come from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, South Korea and other neighbouring countries.”

Dafeng Holland Flower Park quick facts

• Official opening in 2014
• Owned by: Dafeng district, Yancheng city, Jiangsu province
• Organised by Jiangsu Yufeng Tourism Development Co., Ltd.
• Highlights of the theme park include tulip, lily, rose and other flowers as the theme, the European gothic architectural complex, and European and American amorous feelings, mainly based on the Dutch style, highlight the foreign culture.
• Number of annual visitors nearly three million visitors last year
• Number of employees is around 500 people.
• Dafeng Holland Flower Park is invested and operated by the state-owned platform company.