3D printing used in national day flower designs

Flower decorations are prepared to greet the upcoming National Day on Oct 1 at the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, Sept 16, 2014. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - As China prepares for National Day festivities, planners decorating Tian'anmen square are using 3D-printed models to coordinate elaborate flower displays.

Using the technology, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Landscape and Forestry will create prototypes to assist in visualizing intricate floral arrangements planned for the National Day celebrations on Oct 1.

As one of the biggest tourist attractions during the one-week National Day holiday, flower displays in Tian'anmen are an important part of festivities.

With 750,000 flowerpots containing 120 types of flowers planned for this years display, designing the arrangements is no small task, says Zhou Jianping, the landscape bureau's deputy director.

This year, floral arrays will be designed by computer. Descriptions of different flowerbed layers will then be sent to a 3D printer where miniature versions are created and arranged according to the computer modeling.

Ten displays this year will incorporate cultural elements such as Peking Opera, New Year paintings, shadow plays and others, Zhou said.

The main parterre will be placed in the center of Tian'anmen Square and measures 50 meters wide and 15 meter high, it features a 3-meter-wide peony that weighs 300 kilograms.

In order to guarantee bright blossoms throughout the holiday, gardeners have employed supplements to extend blooming lifespan into autumn. Local species capable of surviving Beijing's autumn cold are also used to extend the length of the display.

National day flower arrangements have been part of the country's celebration for 28 years.

Last year, smaller and simpler parterres than previous years were shown in Tian'anmen, as the city government slashed its spending on decorations to echo the central leadership's guidelines on curbing extravagance and formality. Frugal spending on the arrangements is expected to continue this year.

The National Day on Oct 1 marks the 65 anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.