2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition will kick off in Houli, Fengyuan and Waipu, and after the mascots were unveiled, Taichung City Government released their super-adorable line stickers on the 27th, featuring 16 different gestures and expressions of leopard cat and Omi Horse to vividly portray the daily lives of the mascots. According to Mayor Lin, within 4 hours of launching the stickers, nearly one million downloads have been accumulated. Join the city government official Line account before July 26 to download the stickers for free, let us support the flora expo through these lovable mascot Line stickers!
Mayor Lin attended the “2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition Mascot Sticker Launch Press Conference” accompanied by Information Bureau Director Kuan-ting Cho as well as mascot sticker designer and animation director Min-yu Chen and City Councilor Su-chen Chiu. Representatives from the office of City Councilors Ya-ling Tsai and Chen-hsien Chen’s office also paid their respects at the function.
The lively event was streamed live on “2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition” Facebook fan page. Mayor Lin commented that each sticker represents an emotion, expressing happiness, anger, sadness and joy. His personal favorite sticker is the one where leopard cat sister Love says “Please”, because he thinks it is just too cute. He thanked director Chen for his meticulous design and revealed that he was already using the sticker in his family’s Line group. Mayor Lin invited everyone to download and share the stickers.
“Let’s all get involved in the flora expo!” Mayor Lin mentioned during his speech that more than 1,000 people have visited the “Leopard Cat’s Home” showroom since it was opened to the public by the city government, and nearly one million downloads have been accumulated within 4 hours of launching the stickers, suggesting that the leopard cat is an extremely successful spokesperson of the flora expo, in turn getting the event off to a good start.
Mayor Lin indicated that leopard cat and horse were destined to be selected as the mascots of the flora expo, because originally the event was supposed to be held only in Houli, but with the discovery of endangered leopard cats in 2014, the Houli exhibition area was reduced to preserve space for the leopard cats, while two locations (Waipu and Fengyuan) were added to make up for the diminished flora exhibition area in Houli. By enriching the Taichung flora expo, the event received acknowledgment from the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), which upgraded the “Taichung International Flora Exposition” to “Taichung World Flora Exposition”.
In addition, thanks to the flora expo, the century-old Houli Horse Ranch was restored to preserve the historic monument. In the future, it will be transformed into the largest international equestrian center in Asia to enhance the local culture. Choosing the leopard cat and horse as the flora expo mascots is significant in that they correspond to the GNP ideology (Green, Nature and People) of 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition, and it is hoped that the entire city can partake in the event and become flora expo spokespersons in embracing the grand international gathering.
According to the Information Bureau, the public can join the city government official Line account before July 26 to download the stickers for free, so fans of the leopard cat family and Omi horse should hurry up! When greeting your friends on Line, don’t forget to use the most adorable Taichung flora expo mascot stickers, featuring the hilarious leopard cat dad, angry leopard cat mom, cheeky leopard cat sister Love and her quirky brother Life, who always seem confused. Don’t forget the funny sticker of Omi horse being spotted in the toilet.
Leopard cat dad is a skillful farmer, leopard cat mom is a pastry chef, and Love is smart and energetic while Life is goofy all the time; there is also the saxophone-loving Omi horse. These characters with vibrant personalities all have distinct expressions and gestures that are complemented by their unique costumes to portray the flora expo story.
The flora expo will be held from November 3, 2018 to April 24, 2019. The grand event will leave behind invaluable legacies for the local community, as Houli Horse Ranch will be preserved, the Waipu exhibit area will become an international agricultural innovation park, while the Fengyuan exhibit area will be converted into a pastry museum. Furthermore, transport network developed for the flora expo will also increase transport and tourism volume, in turn creating a sustainable, flourishing outlook for the city.