Shanghai plans to grow ivy and other creeping plants on the exterior walls of more than 1,000 buildings to cool down temperatures this summer, city officials said yesterday.

Plants covering the exterior wall of buildings will reduce indoor temperatures by blocking direct sunshine, experts said.

"The purpose of the project is two-fold: to increase the city's green landscaping and to save energy," Ma Xingfa, head of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission's social development department, said yesterday.

He said the commission has set aside more than 100,000 yuan (US$12,346) for a study of creeper plants, which is being conducted by the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology.

"We plan to grow the new creeper plants as soon as this summer," said Ma, adding the commission will select a group of downtown residential and office buildings to test the plants on.

Private gardening companies will be hired to plant and maintain the foliage.

According to Chen Jinxin, a researcher at the institute, the plants should be able to reduce indoor temperatures by 2 degrees Celsius in buildings they cover, which should greatly reduce power consumption during the hottest part of the day.

He said the plants can also help remove dust from the air and improve air quality.

Currently, Chen and his companions are doing feasibility studies on buildings that are up to 12 stories tall.

Normally, creepers can reach a height of 15 meters, equivalent to a five- to seven-story building.

He said it takes around three years for creepers to thrive. The number of creeping plants in the city has dropped sharply in recent years due to relocation work, Chen said.

He acknowledged that some people are also worried the plants could attract more mosquitoes and other insects during the summer.

The large number of skyscrapers packed into a small area downtown has created the so-called "heat-island effect," which raised temperatures by about 1.6 degrees Celsius over temperatures in the city's outskirts.

Bringing down electricity consumption during the summer could help the city solve power supply problems.

(Shanghai Daily March 16, 2006)