You are in a colorful world filled with tens of thousands of red, yellow, blue and pink roses introduced from all over the world. Looking through the glass wall, there lies a snow-capped frozen river with silver hills embellished with multicoloured coats of skiers in the background.

This is the outskirts of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province in northeast China. The city will host the 2006 World Horticulture Exposition.

This important industrial city has won approval from the International Association of Horticulture Producers to hold the exposition. The show will officially open in April and end in October, but actually "we will never put it at an end," said Chen Zhenggao, mayor of Shenyang.

Chen said the exposition area will be a permanent show place for various flowers and plants and will open all year round to the public. It is also expected to be a new scenic spot and an entertainment complex for domestic and foreign tourists.

Covering 5.3 square kilometers, the exposition is projected to be the largest of its kind in the world. The area will be in the eastern suburbs of Shenyang around the valley of Hunhe, a major river in the city, and stretching to Qipan Mountain, an ideal place to build a skiing resort.

Sixty-six gardens in various styles are expected to be built in the area. Forty-six will be built by Chinese firms, and the rest by foreign countries.

"Compared with previous such expositions held in other countries, the one in Shenyang enjoys unique advantages," Chen said.

Instead of building gardens on land isolated from urban areas or on land developed on saline-alkali soil, the new exposition will be in a picturesque place along a river and at the foot of a mountain.

The area will be divided into four parts: greenhouses to display roses from all over the world, gardens and greenhouses for various flowers and plants, yards to show potted landscapes, and a skiing resort capable of accommodating 20,000 to 30,000 tourists a day.

"The new area is designed to pursue an integration between people and nature and between vitality and peace," the mayor said. It is not far away from the city proper and is expected to become a new tourist resort for Chinese and foreigners.

The gardens will cover more than 2 square kilometers and the other 3 square kilometers will be for entertainment projects. About 100 entertainment facilities will be built in the area.

Chen said he hopes that Chinese and foreign businesses will invest in these projects.

Southwest China's Kunming held an A-Class world horticulture fair in 1999. Situated in the semi-tropical zone and enjoying the nickname Plant Kingdom in China, Kunming is an ideal place for such an event.

Shenyang is a traditional industrial city specializing in manufacturing machine tools, mine machines and fighter planes. It enjoys no more than 180 non-frost days a year, and its average temperature stays about - 25 C in winter.

Holding a large-scale show for flowers and plants in this unlikely venue has aroused curiosity and doubts from many people.

But Chen is confident. Such events have been held in Germany, the Netherlands and Canada. All of them are cold places. "They succeeded, we can too," he said.

This is also one of the city's steps to build its image worldwide, he said.

Although the project is still being designed, its economic benefits have already attracted attention. Property developers are seeking every channel to get a plot of land in the area and potential house buyers are paying close attention to the market.

However, the municipal government has called a halt to land sales. Property development has to make way for the overall design of the exposition.

The mayor, who cherishes great hopes for the new scenery and entertainment center, said the aim of the project is to explore new ways to integrate industrial development and environmental improvement.

Shenyang's economic boom has occurred at the cost of the environment. Many heavy polluting plants were set up in urban areas and in 1988 Shenyang was listed by the World Health Organization as one of the world's 10 most polluted cities.

Environmental protection

The situation has seen great changes. The municipal government has put around 1.5 billion yuan (US$181 million) into cleaning up and protecting the environment in the past decade.

Statistics from the local economic commission show that around 500 heavy polluters including paper mills, cement factories and steel plants have been shut down in the last three years. Many firms that were particularly bad for producing pollution were moved out of the city before they could reach the minimum standard requirement.

More than 300 were ordered to upgrade their technology and reduce emissions. New central heating systems have also helped the city reduce pollution.

Tiexi used to be a major place for heavy-polluters three years ago, but the local government has so far moved all such enterprises out of the area and is making efforts to develop the district into a new environmentally-friendly manufacturing base.

With a better environment, many local people have bought houses in the district. Housing is in short supply, and prices have risen from 500 yuan (US$60) per square meter last year to 1,500 yuan (US$181) now.

Efforts to improve the environment have paid off. Shenyang was listed by the State Environmental Protection Administration as a model city for environmental protection earlier this month.

At the same time, Shenyang is reforming its industrial structure. Statistics from the local economic commission show the output of its new industries, involving car parts, high-tech manufacturing and information technology, now make up 52 per cent of the total industrial output.

Industrial restructuring has not only revived the clumsy economy but also helped clean the air. Enterprises with better economic returns have money to invest in environmental protection projects. With a better environment, Shenyang has become more attractive for both domestic and foreign investors.

"The good environment has helped Shenyang to win the chance of hosting the 2006 horticultural exposition," Chen said.

The exposition will not be an isolated project. "Our aim is to develop the eastern rural area into a resort and recreation centre in Shenyang and Northeast China," Chen said.

The new area is expected to push forward the development of the 150-square-kilometre outskirts in northeastern Shenyang, where the exposition will be held.

With nice gardens and an entertainment complex, tourism is expected to boom. Shenyang currently receives about 1.5 million tourists a year. The figure is expected to jump to 10 million when the exposition opens, Chen said.

(China Daily December 31, 2004)