FLORAL SHOE: The expo park is decorated with flowers everywhere tourists look (JIANG XIAOYING)

The 2011 International Horticultural Exposition (IHE) is being held in Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. It spreads across 418 hectares, 188 of which are covered by water. The expo is expected to receive 15 million visitors, domestic and foreign, during its 178 days.

Design

This is the third time a mainland city of China has held the IHE. In 1999, Kunming, capital city of southwest China's Yunnan Province, became the first city on the Chinese mainland to host the IHE, attracting 69 countries to take part and more than 9.5 million visitors. In 2006, Shenyang, capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province, was the host, attracting more than 12 million tourists.

The ongoing 2011 Expo in Xi'an showcases the latest achievements and products in the areas of landscape, horticulture, plants and flowers, environmentally friendly and energy-saving new technology, new materials, and hundreds of rare plants and ecological landscapes from different areas and climate zones around the globe.

The site of the 2011 Expo in Xi'an is situated in the Chanba Ecological District, a former garbage dump near the Chanhe and Bahe rivers that had been heavily polluted. The Xi'an Government has spent the past several years restoring the ecosystem and the water is now clear, making it a perfect spot for holding the IHE.

"The expo aims to present mankind's ability to find ways to achieve economic growth without doing harm to the environment in a simple and low-carbon way," said Zhao Zhengyong, Governor of Shaanxi Province and President of the expo's organizing committee, at the opening ceremony.

Green life concepts are introduced to the 2011 Expo in Xi'an, including simple decoration, low-carbon travel, valuing grain, saving and recycling water and growing flowers and trees.

The 2011 Expo in Xi'an has added many international factors, allowing the Chinese to enjoy world culture without stepping out of the country. For instance, in international gardens, such as the Japanese and Thailand gardens, tourists can see architecture from those countries and buy souvenirs from people of those countries.

Additionally, many masters of the art of horticulture were invited to design the expo park. The Chang'an Tower, one of the four main buildings in the expo site, was designed by Zhang Jingqiu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. There are nine master and 10 university horticultural parks and these parks are filled with works representing the world's highest level of the art of horticulture.

"The expo is the largest, high-level international event Shaanxi Province has held since the founding of People's Republic of China in 1949," said Chen Baogen, Mayor of Xi'an. "This is a great opportunity to show the world a green, modern, fashionable and international Xi'an."