Golden Dragon Lake Business Area - Chief Planner and Designer
The Golden Dragon Lake Business Area sits at the heart of the Xuzhou Economic and Technology Zone (46 square miles). Atkins completed the master plan for the site. As team leader, Prof. Xiaoming Liu won the contract in 2007 to carry out landscape planning for 495 acres and detailed design for 136 acres. His concept was to establish an active investment catalyst and a lively park-like infrastructure serving nearby offices, hotels, banks, shops and residential buildings. He oversaw the entire process—from conceptual schemes and design development to construction drawings and on-site supervision. The project was completed in 2012 and proved highly successful.
Qisheng Lake Park - Chief Planner & Landscape Designer
Qisheng Lake Park covers 166 acres in the new central urban area of Zibo, the ancient capital of the Qi State over 2,200 years ago. In 2013 and 2015, Prof. Xiaoming Liu, together with Mr. Tianlong Guo, prepared detailed proposals that received strong approval from city officials and were advanced to design development and construction documentation. Aligned with urban planning goals, the park was designed as a new green landmark at the northern edge of the central greenbelt, to celebrate local history and culture, remediate an on-site landfill, and provide an ecological, functional destination for residents and visitors. A 51-acre lake was excavated on the formerly flat site and linked to the nearby city canal; the terrain was recontoured, thousands of trees, shrubs and groundcovers were planted, and garden structures were built. The park was finally completed in 2018 with an investment exceeding $100 million.
Shengshi Tianxiang Garden, 2016 Tangshan International Horticultural Expo - Chief Designer
The 32,292-square-foot Shengshi Tianxiang Garden was one of six designer gardens at the 2016 Tangshan International Horticultural Expo. It aimed to form a temporary landmark that showcased advanced horticultural techniques. Large, sweeping volumes of colorful “flower waterfalls” created a dynamic, inviting signature landscape during the expo. Prof. Xiaoming Liu also planned the entire Six Designers Gardens precinct for the event. Under the theme "City and Nature, Phoenix Nirvana," the expo sought to highlight a post-earthquake reconstruction success and offer a model for a city’s transition from industrial prominence to eco-civilization, providing a platform for international exhibitors to display innovations in culture, landscape design and sustainable development.
Lianyungang Garden - Chief Designer for Architectural Design & Landscape Design
This pavilion was part of the 2013 expo in Yangzhong city. The Lianyungang site occupied 3.6 acres and interpreted the city’s identity as a coastal port through dynamic features such as a sea-sky tower, floral displays, repurposed tires, reeds, trees, shrubs, bamboo, shells, lawns, decking and fishing boats. The sea-sky tower explored notions of transit-hub form and metaphor, serving as an observation landmark for the garden and the northern section of the expo.
Suzhou Bay Forest Wetland Park Planning Scheme - Chief Planner
The 1,680-acre site lies on the eastern shore of Tai Lake in Wuzhong District, Suzhou, and is part of the green network for Tai Lake New Town. Prof. Xiaoming Liu’s planning approach emphasized ecological restoration within a cultural context, community revitalization, and the creation of aesthetic, educational and recreational experiences for all ages while engaging the local community. The proposal won first place in a national competition organized by the Suzhou Urban Planning Bureau.
Greening for The Lotus Temple - Chief Designer
The temple in Xuzhou is the fully restored Maitreya Dijo, one of the largest historic temples in eastern China. For the greening scheme, Prof. Xiaoming Liu centered on the idea that “the temple is hidden in the trees, bamboo and flowers.” Spanning 65 acres, the outdoor green spaces were designed to function as introductions, places for meditation, transitional zones and welcoming areas, planted with a diverse mix of trees, shrubs and ground covers.
Landscape Design of Green Rivers Manor II - Chief Designer
Green Rivers Manor II is one of Beijing’s premier luxury residential developments. The gated, manned community occupies 84 acres, including a 12-acre lake and 106 single-family homes. Residences range from 6,500 sq. ft. to 12,500 sq. ft., with average selling prices exceeding USD 10 million.The design aimed to give each home a unique private garden while also providing public, accessible open space and lakefront for the entire community. To ensure comfort, privacy and an air of elegance, shade trees, pines, lawns, groundcovers and aquatic plants were carefully arranged to form a lush landscape. The property now serves as an ideal retreat for celebrities and business leaders seeking respite from a fast-paced life.
Willow-Wave Park - Chief Designer
The 32-acre Willow-Wave Park is located in the historic Willow-Wave village area adjacent to the Summer Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Beijing. The landscapes here were highly praised by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty. In 2002 Prof. Xiaoming Liu was invited to design a park to support local township development. The project sought to create a community park for leisure fishing that responded to the cultural context, converting existing rectangular fish ponds into linear water features. Additional popular tree species and various shrubs were planted as a signature for the site. The park is frequently visited by residents and anglers.
Civic Park - Chief Designer
The 36-acre park was designed to combine natural and cultural elements adjacent to the new municipal civic center in Tongliao, on the Horqin grassland of Inner Mongolia. Because of harsh weather conditions, native species were carefully introduced to form an eco-friendly wooded hill and tree-shaded parking areas. Waterfalls constructed with local stone emphasized a strong sense of regional history.
Garden at The Cloud-cave Hotel - Chief Designer of the Garden & Garden Buildings Supervisor of the Construction
The Cloud-cave (Yunxiu) Hotel is situated in Huairou District, Beijing. The hotel’s 37,673-square-foot garden was conceived as an extended outdoor area for celebrations, parties and other events. In the tradition of Chinese gardens, the site combined plants, rock hills, water features, paved surfaces, cloud walls, and a variety of garden buildings to create mysterious, welcoming spaces for enjoyment and relaxation.
Suqian Garden - Chief Designer
The 30,138-square-foot garden for Suqian was created for an event held in Suqian city in 2011. Responding to the local wine culture, it featured an ancient Chinese wine flagon sculpture on a terrace beneath which jars of wine were buried in sand. Trees, shrubs and annuals were planted in a naturalistic arrangement.
Old Changxin Town Re-birth Proposal - Chief Planner
The historic town, covering 180 acres, lies in Mentougou District, Beijing, and comprises traditional residential courtyards, shops, factories and temples. In 2018 Prof. Xiaoming Liu proposed reimagining the traditional urban pattern to protect heritage sites and renew the town’s economy within its historic and cultural context.
On October 25–26, 2010, the UNESCO World Heritage Center convened an Expert Meeting to examine the feasibility of an International Landscape Convention. Participants included Francesco Bandarin (World Heritage Center Director), Prof. Kathryn Moore (International Federation of Landscape Architects, IFLA), Benedicte Selfslag (ICOMOS General Secretary), Monica Luengo (ICOMOS IFLA International Scientific Committee Director), Maguelonne Dejeant Pons (European Parliament), Pietro Laureano (UNESCO Traditional Knowledge Center), Joseph King (ICCROM), Nicolas Jelansky (UIA), Mechtild Rossler (Head, Europe and North America Division, UNESCO World Heritage Center), Thmas Schaaf (UNESCO Ecological and Earth Sciences Division), John Donaldson (UNESCO Legal Counsel), IFLA Past President Martha Fajardo, Patricia O'Donnell (IFLA Cultural Landscape Committee Director), IFLA APR Secretary Prof. Xiaoming Liu (CHSLA delegate to IFLA), Prof. Albert Mumma (University of Nairobi, Kenya), and others.
Prof. Xiaoming Liu with IFLA President Diane Menzies at the 2007 IFLA World Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
As IFLA APR Secretary, Prof. Xiaoming Liu played an active role in organizing the 2009 IFLA APR Conference in Incheon, Korea, supporting IFLA Vice President ( Asian and Pacific Region) Alan Titchener and IFLA Past Vice President(APR) Tong Mahn Ahn.
For the six designers gardens at 2016 International Horticultural Expo, six landscape architects were invited to design the gardens, They were acclaimed German landscape architect Prof. Arno S. Schmid (IFLA Past President), Japanese landscape architect Haruto Kobayashi (IFLA Past First Vice President), American landscape architect Prof. Niall Kirkwood, New Zealand landscape architects Diane Menzies (IFLA Past President) and Garth Falconer and Canadian landscape architect Canadian Prof. Douglas Paterson and Chinese landscape architect Prof. Xiaoming Liu. Xiaoming also worked as the coordinator for the project. On April 29 Arno, Haruto, Diane, Garth and Xiaoming visited Haruto’s Bamboo Wind Rebirth Garden at the opening of the expo.
Prof. Xiaoming Liu with Prof. Zhaozhen Meng, who worked as Xiaoming’s academic advisor for his master’s and philosophy degrees at Beijing Forestry University.
While a visiting scholar in 2006, Prof. Xiaoming Liu was with his academic advisor Prof. Niall Kirkwood, Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University.
In 2005 Prof. Xiaoming Liu was invited by German landscape architect Prof. Peter Latz to assist him in Urban Design project for the South lake Area in Tangshan City, China.
Prof. Xiaoming Liu with JILA President and Prof. Shinji Isoya, a keynote speaker at the 47th IFLA World Congress in 2010.
Xiaoming Liu won the first place in International Student Design Competition by IFLA and NLA and UNESCO Prize in 1990. He was talking about his winning project at the prize-giving ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, May 3, 1991.
