The Singapore Botanic Gardens has been named the top park in Asia
based on feedback by travellers on online travel site, TripAdvisor.
At the June 26 ceremony to announce winners of Travellers’ Choice
Attractions awards, TripAdvisor’s chief marketing officer Barbara
Messing said the top attractions were named based on feedback from
millions worldwide and were meant to “inspire travellers setting out on
summer trips”.
Singapore has sent its initial application to
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation
(UNESCO) to declare the 154-year-old Botanic Gardens a world heritage
site.
If selected by UNESCO, the 74-hectare park will be the
first world heritage site of Singapore and it will join the Royal
Botanic Gardens in London and the Orto Botanico in Italy on the
prestigious list.
The Singapore Botanic
Gardens lies on the edge of downtown Singapore and was founded in
1859 by the Agri-Horticultural Society while the island was under
British colonial rule.
The Gardens boasts over 30,000 plant and
tree species as well as a swan lake and amphitheatre where classical
music and other concerts are held.
It is also known
for the National Orchid Garden , the largest display of tropical
orchids in the world with over 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids.
Among TripAdvisor’s awards for Asia this year, Universal Studios
Singapore came in second in the list of top 10 amusement and water parks
in Asia, and the Asian Civilisations Museum was named one of the top
museums in the region, taking the twelfth spot, while the Singapore
Flyer was named the top landmark in Singapore.-VNA