NEW YORK, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- The New York Botanical Garden is rolling into a holiday season with its annual holiday train show, which features architectural replicas of the city's Central Park - one of the most popular urban parks in the United States.
Now in its 28th edition, the annual event transports visitors to a miniature metropolis as model trains zip through an enchanting display of more than 175 landmarks in New York City, each re-created with bark, lotus pods, acorns, cinnamon sticks, and other natural materials.
Six replicas made their debut this year, which are Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Terrace, the Dairy, the Naumburg Bandshell, and two graceful pedestrian bridges, according to Victoria Lewis, the botanical garden's manager of interpretive content.
"In real life Bow Bridge is made of steel, but for our version, it's twigs and willow bark," said Lewis. Dating from 1862, the Bow Bridge is known for its subtle shape which is reminiscent of the bow of an archer or violinist.
The new miniature replicas are arrayed in a tableau with existing Central Park collection, including the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater and the Old Bandstand. In addition, famous New York buildings that are either next to the park or just inside it are on display, including the Plaza Hotel, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Rose Center for Earth and Space, part of the American Museum of Natural History.
This year's holiday train show is different from the ones in the previous years as it is held in a temporary exhibition space tailored just for the event. The show used to be held in the conservatory, the palm dome of which is under restoration.
Lewis said because the temperature is lower in the exhibition space this year compared to that of the conservatory, visitors will see more evergreen plants instead of tropical plants at the show.
"It has the effect of being more wintry and it really creates this wonderful indoor winter wonderland," said Lewis.
In addition, more than 25 G-scale model trains and trolleys hum along nearly a half-mile of track past re-creations of iconic sites from all five boroughs of New York City, the Hudson River Valley, and other locations in New York State.
The holiday train show has already started and will be running through Jan. 26, 2020.
