Now in Hong Kong, LED-lit roses to bloom in Singapore next

These roses have no scent, but they can still light up your love life.

That's what thousands in Hong Kong found out when they braved the cold to catch a glimpse of the Light Rose Garden, a spectacular sea of LED-lit roses.

Romance warmed hearts in the cool night as couples lined up for hours to be photographed with the installation.

The garden, a product of South Korean creative media firm Pancom, was originally installed in Seoul in 2014.

Its creator Jung Yong Jin had previously told members of the media: "I created this LED rose garden because I wanted families, friends and lovers to come out to parks at night."

WORLD TOUR

The garden is making its first appearance abroad in Hong Kong as part of a world tour and Singapore will be its next stop. This will be confirmed at a later date.

The free exhibition, located by the bay in the heart of Hong Kong's financial district, opened on Valentine's Day and will run until Monday, coinciding with the Chinese Lantern Festival on the last day of Chinese New Year.

White roses, meant to symbolise purity, innocence and love, are packed densely, with 25 stalks on every 3 sq m of the Victoria Harbour promenade. The installation spans about 3,000 sq m and took almost four days to set up.

Crowds gather for hours before each night's light-up at 6pm.

"The response has been great," said Mr S. K. Lam, 42, creative director of event organiser AllRightsReserved.

"In Hong Kong, people prefer to shop or do commercialised things for Valentine's, but this is very different."

Mr Thomas Wu, 48, a driver who was there with his wife and teenage son, said: "I wanted to teach my son about romance. We spent an hour taking photos.

"The flowers are fantastic and bring back romantic memories."

hpeishan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 18, 2016.
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