Jordan Wright
September 30, 2018
Bathe in the beauty of hundreds of orchids at the historic 18-acre estate of Twin Oaks in Northwest DC. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) presents the exciting exhibition, “Discover the Beauty of Taiwanese Orchids”. This exciting exhibit is open to the public from September 27th to October 3rd. At the opening reception Ambassador Stanley Kao and his wife hosted guests with the President of Taiwan Sugar Corporation, Mr. Yu-Chung Huang in the 24-room mansion built in 1888.
“Twin Oaks is a symbol of friendship and strength of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship,” said Stanley Kao, Taiwan’s representative to the United States. “This estate has a storied history, both for sharing the culture of Taiwan and the United States, and also for bearing witness to key historical events in this long the mutually beneficial partnership.”
Owned by the government of Taiwan, this magnificent estate showcased one of Taiwan’s national treasures – Phalaenopsis amabilis – in a myriad of ways. Trees are now hung with enormous sprays of these many-colored orchids and the portico and mansion’s interiors are chock-a-block with their elegance.
At the opening reception were leaders from the Washington business and policy community, think tanks and diplomatic corps and journalists. We were thrilled to enjoy both indoor and outdoor displays of these stunning blooms and hear the stories of the Orchid Symphony.
One particular outdoor display features a winding watercourse with floating teacups to symbolize a poetry game of legend, popular with the country’s ancient literati. Among the trees hangs the calligraphy of Lantingji Xu. It records one of the games and is the preface to the poems collected during that particular game. Other displays triumph the culture of Taiwan as well as the 130-year history of Twin Oaks. In one, a decorated canoe created from nine different kinds of wood illustrates the exquisite workmanship of Lanyu the island celebrated for this native Taiwanese orchid species. Guests were gifted with a basket of phalaenopsis orchids donated by the award-winning company Taisuco who brought the team who created the eye-popping displays.
Factoid: A whopping 32% of Taiwan’s orchids are exported to the U. S. where orchid fanciers have enjoyed their long-lasting beauty and charm.
The Taiwanese Council of Agriculture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) co-sponsored this event. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) has entrusted the Taiwan Association of Orchid Production and Development with landscaping and arrangement of this auspicious celebration.
The exhibit is open to the public through October 3rd. Twin Oaks is located at 3225 Woodley Road, Washington, DC. www.roc-taiwan.org.