The 1st Jingzhou City Garden Expo was the second garden expo and a key project of Hubei Province. Located to the north of Miaohu Lake, the third largest lake in Hubei Province, and to the east of the remains of Jinancheng City, it covered an area of 1,550 acres and included 45 exhibition gardens in 6 sections, which fully showcased the inheritance, combination and development of the splendor of Jingchu (ancient Hubei) culture and the ecological concept of gardening. The 1st Jingzhou City Garden Expo was the second garden expo and a key project of Hubei Province. ZEHO ECO mainly solved two major contradictions in this project: ①the contradiction between the rich cultural heritage of Jingzhou and the lack of carrier; ②the contradiction between anticipated functions of the garden expo between limitations such as excessive water surface (accounting for 55% of the total area), cultural protection requirements, the current natural water network, etc. As the contractor, ZEHO ECO, with excellent craftsmanship, followed the current topography, put the geographical conditions into consideration, respected historical relics, and met the requirements of the Expo. As a result, we successfully created a grand green event that stood out in the country, made Hubei excited, and made Jingzhou proud.

Closely following the theme of "Ecological Garden Expo in the Glamorous Hubei Province", ZEHO ECO planned the layout according to the water and plant network and reshaped the spatial structure to create picturesque aquatic habitats and green scenery; created a typical scene made of "streams, rivers, lakes, islands, dykes, ridges, ponds and islets" and formed a spatial structure of "one center, one corridor, and five districts". During the construction of the project, the original natural appearance was preserved as much as possible, and the various landforms such as the plains, uplands and tidal lands in the area were fully used. Abundant wild animals and plants, the beautiful ecological environment, Cedar forest, water towns, picturesque landscape, waterfront forests and wetland showed the natural charm of Jingchu.

Water town vibe: ZEHO ECO full used the original landforms such as fish ponds, ditches, banks and land—ingeniously restored them to form a water town landscape with dense river ponds, compact water networks, and connecting islets; gave full play to the role of aquatic plants in purifying water bodies and used abundant aquatic plants and microorganisms to form a natural water circulation system; used various modern “sponge” technologies and methods, such as permeable paving, to build a “sponge” garden that boasted natural infiltration, natural storage, and natural purification.

Jingchu Garden: ZEHO ECO inherited the cultural characteristics of Chu people valuing nature and pursuing the “harmony of nature and man” and achieved it by integrating the artificial landscape into the natural environment, which fully showed the characteristics of Jingchu gardens. Both the building style and the bridge style enjoyed a strong Jingchu flavor, displaying the natural and exquisite landscape of Jingchu gardens.

Cultural feast: ZEHO ECO integrated elements of the Chu culture with into the garden’s landscape and displayed the rich Chu culture in multiple aspects. The Museum of the Chinese Chu Culture is the center of the entire garden. In line with the people-oriented and history-oriented requirements, the birth and development of Chu culture were outlined in the museum.

The project is an interpretation and practice of construction idea of “Ecological Jingzhou with charming water system”; an improvement and beautification of the natural texture and the landscape of the Yangtze River and Changhu Lake basins in Jingzhou; and an enhancement and supplement to the green space system of Jingzhou. It played a curial role in improving the environment in Jingzhou. The 1st Jingzhou City Garden Expo is an important display window for Jingzhou City and its culture and the main breakthrough point and an important platform for inheriting Jingchu culture, exhibiting garden art, promoting ecological civilization, and building "beautiful Hubei". In September 2019, the Expo with the theme of “Ecological Garden Expo in the Glamorous Hubei Province” opened. During the Expo alone, it attracted about 1 million tourists. After the Expo, it was converted into a tourist destination, which continues to vitalize Jingzhou’s tourism industry.