Of all the exhibits the design minds at Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens have conceived during the past eight years with Ed Libby at the helm, the annual Lunar New Year installations provide perhaps the most challenges and rewards. While the main theme is directly related to the animal associated with the year’s zodiac sign—2025 is the Year of the Snake—opportunities to tell visual stories through mythical figures and symbolism are rich and varied.
Photo by: Vanessa Rogers
It all begins with the animal that comes with the new moon cycle. In the race that determined the order with which the zodiac symbols would be celebrated, the snake came in sixth, behind the dragon but beating the horse. The snake symbolizes intuition and transformation, and may be perceived as charming or intimidating.
“The Lunar New Year exhibit is a much different process than the other exhibits that we do throughout the year,” says Libby, who works with the Far East marketing team and executives with what they would like to see. “Everybody agreed that the snake can come off as intimidating. Some people are fearful of the snake, so one of the things that was part of our assignment was to make the snake beautiful and glamorous.”
The slitherer stands 28 feet high in the Conservatory’s North Bed, its red skin and black outlines deferential to the snake’s lucky colors. Red and gold lanterns hang above a pond fed by a Koi fish fountain.
Over in the East Bed, pandas Bao and Mei, representing yin and yang, exchange giant red envelopes beneath money trees sprouting 88 I-Ching coins. The West Bed features peddlers telling stories and selling merchandise as children and pandas play by the 30-foot pagoda and waterfall, lit up by LED fireworks ignited in the “sky.”
Photo by: Vanessa Rogers
“They are magnificent during the day but they are insanely cool at night. It’s really incredible,” says Libby of the fireworks. “We wanted it to feel and look as celebratory as possible.”
Libby also cites “up-close magic” as being an important element. That is, taking in the scene from a distance then zooming in to discover the intricacies of the materials used to create them. The pandas and snake were made from 45,600 preserved roses. Fireworks were made from 25,000 LED lights.
Five porcelain figures were created using the ancient art form of qinghua, while it took 120 hours to make the blue-and-white porcelain plate in the South Bed where trees sprout 2,500 cherry blossom branches.
“We’re really encouraged to tell stories through the exhibit, which I love,” says Libby, who is especially proud of the Garden Table, where guests can have an immersive dim sum experience curated by Noodles, Bellagio’s Pan-Asian restaurant.
“The whole idea of doing the South Bed in chinoiserie, which is basically a very glamorous Chinese art form that’s become mainstream in the Western World as well, I thought was really special,” says Libby. “The chinoiserie temple is where the dining experience is. It’s really a true East-meets-West moment, which I think is kind of cool.”
Bellagio. 702.693.7111 or bellagio.mgmresorts.com
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