The 2016 Han Feng Bonsai Exposition was held at the Guest House of Imperial Envoys in Taiwan’s Taipei Botanic Garden on October 5-9. Sponsored by the Taipei Bonsai Association, the annual bonsai extravaganza was attended by dozens of bonsai artists from across Taiwan, with 60 bonsai works and 23 beautiful shaped rocks, or Suiseki.

The opening ceremony was held on the morning of October 5 at the entrance of the museum. It was presided over by Professor Amy Liang, chair of the exhibition organization committee and honorary president of National Bonsai Association of Taiwan (NBAT). The ceremony was attended by local bonsai artists, Taiwanese government officials, and guests from Taiwan, the United States, Japan, Finland, and Hong Kong.

Watch this video about World-Renowned Bonsai Artist Professor Amy Liang and Her Bonsai Masterpieces:

In her opening remarks, Professor Liang stressed the purpose of the exhibition. She urged Taiwanese bonsai artists to take advantage of this opportunity to learn from the two visiting Japanese bonsai experts and exchange views with other bonsai artists so as to bring a new dimension to bonsai art in Taiwan.

Among the participants, two dozen special guests were invited to the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the front gate of the museum, which is designated as a historical site.

A bonsai convention was also held adjacent to the Botanical Garden at the International Conference Hall of Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute. Japanese bonsai artists Taiga Urushibata and Sasaki Masahiro gave a joint keynote address at the convention entitled “The International Trend and Development of Bonsai” and “An Introduction to Small-Sized Bonsai,” respectively.  A demonstration of bonsai tree pruning techniques was later conducted by Mr. Urushibata and Mr. Sasaki.

Of all the bonsai works on exhibition, Mr. Zhou Yuanpeng’s Black Pine won the first prize, Mr. Huang Yingfu’s Chinese Juniper and other five entries won the gold prizes, Mr. Chen Zhihua’s Itoigawa Juniper and other five bonsai trees won the silver prizes’ and Mr. He Changchun’s Chinese Juniper and other 9 bonsai works won the bronze prizes.

Bonsai literally means “tray-planted.” The art of bonsai dates back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907) in China, where penjing (盆景) literally means “tray landscape.” It was introduced to Japan by imperial embassies during the Tang Dynasty, where it caught on and was further developed in Japan.

Due to its subtropical temperatures, bonsai trees grow quickly in Taiwan. Currently, the number of bonsai growers in Taiwan is between 10,000 and 20,000. A number of bonsai exhibitions are held across the island year round to promote bonsai art.

Watch a video of the 2016 Han Feng Bonsai Exposition Taiwan here.

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The post Bonsai Artists and Their Masterpieces appeared first on The Vision Times.