Shanghai was conferred Monday the title of "National Garden City" by the Ministry of Construction for environmental improvements over the last two years.  

Construction Minister Wang Guangtao and Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng attended the award ceremony in Shanghai.

In the 1990s, Shanghai began to focus urban construction efforts on ecological improvements and proposed in 2001 to become a "garden city."

The city plans to plant 1,800 hectares of trees, grass and other plants in 2004, so as to increase its greenery coverage to 36 percent, with an average of 10 square meters of green lands per resident.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2004)