The Taiwan International Orchid Show (TIOS) is scheduled to be held from March 12 to 21 at the Taiwan Orchid Plantation (TOP): No.325, Wushulin, Houbi Dist., Tainan City. In celebration of the Year of the Monkey, the 2016 TIOS introduces to its visitors many samples of the extremely rare Monkey Orchid, whose flower bears uncanny resemblance to simian facial feature. The show organizers also designed 7 scenes of happiness using orchids to fill the hearts of each and every visitor with blessings and happiness in the Year of the Monkey.

　　The Council of Agriculture (COA) pointed out that as always all pavilions in this edition of TIOS boast their unique features. The Happiness Pavilion presents the “7 scenes of happiness” featuring a large scale orchid exhibit entitled “Hold on to Your Happiness” which combines orchids with sand sculptures, as well as 6 other orchid exhibits which present the 6 stages of life: childhood, adolescence, love, family, travel, and completeness. The Cultural Creative Design Pavilion on the other hand showcases the artistic presentation of orchids by creating the elegant “Orchid School”. Red moth orchids, brick walls, and school desks and chairs are used to convey the Confucian ideology of high ethics represented by orchids. The Blossom Pavilion dedicates its spaces to 5 different show areas: Award-Winning Flowers, Combination Flowers, Orchid Education, Individual Competition, and New Variety Exhibition. The pavilion showcases about 1,000 individual plants to be judged by 140 orchid experts, culminating in a grand champion winner. The Orchid Creative Pavilion centers its theme on building a “Happy Orchid Community”, where it displays around 258 biotech, cultural & creative, and orchid products offered by 30 enterprises. Last but not least, the Monkey King Special Exhibit Pavilion boasts an array of the rare monkey orchid from Peru and Ecuador. This lovely flower’s unique simian feature matches with the main character representing this year. Moreover, the pronunciation of this particular flower’s name in Taiwanese resembles “good fortune people”, which is TIOS’s wish to every visitor this year: be bountiful and of good fortune.

2016 TIOS welcomes you with a spectacular show

　　 The COA explained that in order to make the 2016 TIOS visiting experience more convenient for everyone, the iPass-card is introduced for the first time this year. The card features 5 different designs on the front showcasing monkey orchids, moth orchids, vanda orchids, cattleya orchids, and Venus' slipper orchids. If you are an orchids fan, then do not miss out on these exquisitely designed and highly collectable cards. Furthermore, the TIOS also partnered with Taiwan High Speed Rail Corporation, Chimei Corp., and many travel agencies in offering Tainan travel packages. Visitors can also enjoy discounts at hundreds of shops and businesses with the TIOS ticket stub or iPass-card. For more details, please visit the 2016 TIOS official website: www.fst.tw/tios. Book your visit to the 2016 TIOS between March 12 to 21, and be part of an extraordinary international orchid festival.