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You can now float around on lily pads in Taipei, just like your local pond’s bullfrog. This August, the Shuangxi Park and Chinese Garden in Taipei, Taiwan, is offering a special exhibition that allows visitors to sit on top of giant Victoria water lily pads.
Taipei City’s Parks and Street Lights Office (PSLO) is organizing six morning and six afternoon sessions where adults and children who weigh up to 140 pounds can sit on these giant water lilies. Each session will only allow 60 people and will take place on August 14, 16, 18, 21, 23 and 25. The water lilies are known for their large, circular leaves that stretch to around eight feet wide and have upturned edges. This is the exhibition’s fourth year, and to protect the plant surface, guests are only allowed on the lilies for one minute and must sit on plastic wrap.
Although this is a popular exhibit, the PSLO said in a statement that this summer might be the last time they allow guests to sit on the leaves due to high temperatures and water shortage issues resulting from unusual climate conditions in the past few years, Taiwan News reported. Along with high temperatures and water shortages, bugs and pests have also made it hard for the water lilies to grow to their full size.
PSLO Officer Lin Chao-Chin explained to Metro News how one of their biggest challenges in maintaining the lilies is fending off snails and cutworms.
“This means that cutworms and snails will eat the plants. If we don’t fight them, the leaves would be cut off while they are still small. There would be many tiny holes in the leaves, rendering them unable to grow,” Chao-Chin told Metro News.
Lilies can be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. More information on pricing and availability can be found on the exhibition’s site. (Note: You might need to use Google Translate.)
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