Gardens by the Bay is ushering in the Year of the Snake with Spring Blossoms, a Chinese New Year floral display inspired by Legend of the White Snake from 17 January to 23 February 2025 at the Flower Dome.
Legend of the White Snake is one of China’s four great folktales. It tells the story of the union between a mortal man, Xu Xian, and a female snake spirit, Bai Suzhen, also known as Madam White Snake.
Spring Blossoms Legend of Lady White Snake – Mosaiculture Display & More at Flower Dome’s Gardens by the Bay
For Chinese New Year 2025, Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Dome’s Spring Blossoms Legend of Lady White Snake is a floral display with festive blooms and a breathtaking 4.5m-tall floral centrepiece based on the protagonist, Madam White Snake, meticulously crafted through mosaiculture.
This intricate horticultural art form uses a variety of plants to create visually stunning, three-dimensional living sculptures, and is presented in collaboration with leading China landscaping company Beijing Florascape.
The Spring Blossoms Legend of Lady White Snake floral display at Gardens by the Bay also features over 1,000 dahlias, with five new varieties this year.
Dahlias are a favourite bloom during Chinese New Year and a signature of Gardens by the Bay’s festive floral displays during this period. They symbolise prosperity and new beginnings.
Highlights at Spring Blossoms Legend of Lady White Snake
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Here are some of the highlights that make a visit to Spring Blossoms Legend of Lady White Snake a must-do over Chinese New Year.
Legend of the White Snake Centrepiece
The Legend of the White Snake centrepiece that occupies the Flower Field is truly stunning and perhaps even a little haunting. The Legend of the White Snake is a tale about sacrifice, filial piety, and romance between Xu Xian and the snake spirit Bai Suzhen.
This story is depicted in flowers at the display with the giant snake extending across the flower display. Right at the head of the snake is a depiction of Bai Suzhen or Madam White Snake.
More than 23,000 plants including moth orchids, kalanchoes, and cyclamens were painstakingly inserted by hand, plant by plant, to form the 26m-long living sculpture of Madam White Snake.
Putting together the floral display took about two weeks and involved cross-border collaboration between 33 horticulturists from both Gardens by the Bay and Beijing Florascape, an expert in mosaiculture.
In addition to the sculpture of Madam White Snake, mosaiculture also features in other elements of the floral display, such as the Green Snake Xiaoqing, who is Madam White Snake’s loyal friend.
Leifeng Pagoda
There is a towering Chinese pagoda on display at Spring Blossoms. It is a 7m-tall replica of Leifeng Pagoda, where Madam White Snake was trapped as punishment for her love for a mortal man.
Pagodas were first erected to house Buddhist relics. Over time, they became symbolic architectural landmarks, and are often featured in myths, literature, and paintings.
At Spring Blossoms, you can also step into a space inside the pagoda to get a close up view opf two wooden pagoda models on loan from the Asian Civilisations Museum. These are the Compassion and Longevity Pagoda and Thunder Peak Pagoda and represent pagodas linked to key sites in the tale of the Legend of the White Snake.
Jixian Pavilion
The Jixian Pavilion has been recreated for the display at Spring Blossoms.
The pavilion on display is based on the Jixian Pavilion found on the shores of West Lake in Hangzhou, Eastern China, where Lady White Snake and Xu Xian first locked eyes in the misty rain, arranging to meet again at the Broken Bridge.
Model of Lijiang Old Town
Also adding to the cultural flavour of Spring Blossoms is a model of Lijiang Old Town, the beautifully preserved ancient Chinese town found in Yunnan Province. Stop and marvel at the intricate model and imagine what it must be like to pay a visit to this cultural treasure.
Chinese Gardens
As you wander around the Flower Dome, you will also be greeted by depictions of Chinese gardens.
Chinese Gardens evolved from the Zhou dynasty’s (1046-256 BCE) expansive imperial parks into intimate scholar retreats for spiritual and intellectual cultivation during the Tang dynasty (618-907), ultimately reaching artistic heights during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.
There are also scenes of activities such as tea being served as part of the floral display.
The floral display also features a zodiac snake sculpture in a tribute to the Year of the Snake, and paper umbrellas, a reference to how in the story, Xu Xian and Madam White Snake had shared an umbrella on a rainy day.
Visiting Gardens by the Bay’s Spring Blossoms Legend of Lady White Snake
While at Spring Blossoms, do take a moment to appreciate the various dahlia blooms.
These include the Dahlia ‘Ambition’, fully double blooms, measuring 15 to 20 cm across, in rich purple with narrow, elongated velvety petals, and the Dahlia ‘Tartan’, enormous “Dinner Plate” blooms, about 20 to 30 cm wide, featuring burgundy and white striped petals for a striking and elegant contrast.
Spring Blossoms Legend of Lady White Snake is showing at the Flower Dome from 17 January to 23 February 2025.
The Flower Dome’s opening hours are from 9 am to 9 pm.
Usual admission ticket prices apply.
Get more details about Spring Blossoms Legend of Lady White Snake.
If you are looking for things to do at Gardens by the Bay for Chinese New Year, you will also want to find out more about River Hongbao.
