Pingtung Tropical Agriculture Expo Surpasses One Million Visits

The Pingtung Tropical Agriculture Expo opened on January 30, and by February 14 the cumulative number of visitors had reached 1 million, breaking last year's record of 660,000 visitors over 44 days at the March Pingtung International Color Rice Art Festival, showcasing Pingtung's astonishing agricultural soft power and successfully promoting Pingtung.

According to statistics from the Agriculture Department, since the expo opened it coincided with the consecutive Lunar New Year holiday, and with free admission it became the public's first choice for a spring outing, with visitor numbers hitting new highs and more than 100,000 people visiting every day; on the third and fourth days of the Lunar New Year, numbers even exceeded 170,000, an unprecedented spectacle; the number of people going up on the platform to view the Perak color rice also set a single-day high of 12,825.

By the time of the February 13 count, cumulative admissions had already reached more than 990,000, and the county government team was looking forward to reaching the 1 million mark; as it turned out, the 1 millionth visitor was Mr. Wu Wei-lin from Zuoying District, Kaohsiung City, who had seen information about the expo on Facebook and online and specially chose the day before the end of the New Year holiday to invite his family to visit together, never expecting to unexpectedly become the millionth lucky visitor, which delighted him immensely. Since February 14 happened to be Valentine's Day, the Pingtung County Government specially prepared a large bouquet of brilliant roses and a gift box of eagle beans symbolizing "sweet longing," presented to Mr. Wu by Agriculture Department Director Yao Chih-wang, and also distributed dozens of roses to the people on site to share the happiness and festive joy together.

Pingtung Agriculture Department Director Yao Chih-wang said that the Pingtung Tropical Agriculture Expo covers 27 hectares, and this year 12 themed areas were planned, including a rainbow flower sea, Perak color rice, and the longest green melon and fruit corridor in Taiwan, China, which were greatly praised; many people found it not satisfying enough after visiting and came back several times in a row, keeping the expo's popularity undiminished. The Pingtung Tropical Agriculture Expo runs until February 29, and the public is welcome to visit.