The site will encompass an area of 418 hectares, exceeding the Kunming International Horticultural Expo which covered an area of 218 hectares and the Shenyang International Horticultural Expo which covered an area of 246 hectares; the Xian World Horticultural Expo will become the largest horticultural expo in the 2011 calendar year.

Display the aesthetic beauty of Flowers, Greenery and Water all within the IHE site; as well as combining horticultural art with natural ecology to create an environment which can wholly encapsulate the beauty of nature. The IHE will also strive to exhibit the beauty of China’s native flowers and the importance of horticultural in Chinese culture, this will be incorporated in three areas of exhibition: a foreign garden zone, domestic garden zone featuring displays from different Chinese provinces, as well as an ancient Chinese garden zone. And vegetables planted in the space will be introduced into the international horticultural exposition for the first time. Its water area is also the largest one among all the horticultural expos. Special water landscapes such as boats, streets and stages will be built to develop themes of the expo, including integrated processing of the river, water and life, future, water technology. Poetic spectacle would be created to realize wonderful combination of Flowers, Greenery and Water.

The 2011 Xi'an International Horticultural Expo is a wonderful practice of Ecological conservation and technological advancements, emphasizing the theme "Urban Life and Nature in Harmony". And the expo’s idea of 'Ecological Civilization and Development'is well complimented in the construction process. Constructions of the expo center as well as the various exhibits will also been 'Carbon Neutral and Emission Free'. At the same time the expo will aim to introduce the general public to new innovations in ecological preservation, including energy saving devices, the importance of living a life in balance with nature and been intelligent green consumers.

Combing the best aspects of both modern and ancient construction, many of the designs are also specifically inspired by the unique historical, cultural and religious of the host city - Xian. Many of the construction designs have been drawn from ancient Chinese poetry, like the Taoist 'Book of Songs' to display to the world Chinese pedigree in horticultural. Several sacred Chinese animals have also been drawn upon as inspiration, including; Panda, The Golden Monkey, Pearl Goose and the Highland Goat, this serves to further emphasize the balance between man and nature. The landscaped expo area will also include a large area of river bank that has been set aside for large native willow trees. The Xian IHE will also marketing itself as the 'online expo', in partnership with China Telecom will create 'the digital garden' providing digital tickets; digital currency; digital moneybag as well as other digital technologies, the Xi'an organizing committee believes that the creation of the 'digital garden' will function as an effective marketing tool to help boost expo patronage as well as providing the general public with an unparalleled online experience.

unique experience including both appreciation and public participating will be provided. Interactive entertainment areas will be built in the site, where 'Happy Water World' as well as various other leisure activities will be held; this area will also serve 'digital garden' on line and will provide a total expo experience for every patron. The interactive garden will also be the host site for the expo's several open competitions and events including the flower arranging contest, and the innovation contest, providing the public with increased opportunities to participate.

The overall structure of Xian Horticultural Expo can be generalized as "two rings, two axes, five grouped areas". Two Rings" will be divided into the ‘core ring’ which will contain the main expo gardens as well the main attractions, and the 'outer ring' will contain the expo development parks, Expo Village, Command Center as well as other expo related amenities including living quarters. The "Two Axes" refer to the two landscape axes in the expo site: north-south axis (the main axis) and east-west axis. 'Five group Areas' include Xian Zone, Innovation Zone, Five Continent Zone, Science and Technology Zone as well as the Interactive Zone.

As a means of generating increasing interest in the in the Xi'an 2011 IHE there will be several cultural and entertainment events run inside the expo grounds including a boating regatta and a aqua performance on the Ba River. The boating regatta will use traditional Tang Dynasty boats and be accompanied by music. The Ba River performance will take advantage of the wide Ba River and will include motorized boats and excitement.