Preparations for horticulture expo rolling forward in Beijing

Preparations in Beijing are in full swing for the incoming 2019 China Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition－including the construction of the expo park, which is planned for completion by the end of March.

Set to run from April 29 to Oct 7, the 162-day expo will display the latest achievements in floriculture and fruit and vegetable farming at the foot of the Great Wall in the capital's northwestern Yanqing district. The expo park will cover an area of 503 hectares.

An overall strategic plan for the expo is expected to include seven competitive sections. Various kinds of potted plants are included－for example, peonies, roses, orchids and landscape plants－for display in the exhibition, Jiang Zehui, chairman of the China Flower Association, said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Construction of four main pavilions for the expo is nearing completion, said Wang Hong, deputy mayor of Beijing.

More than 230 delegations from various countries, as well as from Chinese cities, have been confirmed for the exhibition so far, she said.

The capital also adopted measures to improve its infrastructure for the expo.

Zhou Jianping, deputy director of the Beijing 2019 Expo Coordination Bureau, said the municipal government had established a special transportation support group with specific public transit lines designed for the expo that will ensure accessibility for passengers.

Xingyan Expressway, which connects downtown Beijing to Yanqing district, will open to traffic by the end of the month, Zhou said.

"The newly built highway will provide a more direct way for citizens to get to the expo park," Zhou said, adding that 19,000 parking spots will be created near the park.

Several ministry-level departments are also making preparations.

The General Administration of Customs, for example, has revised a regulation to simplify items to be displayed at the expo to improve the efficiency of customs clearances, said Yin Zonghua, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

He also added that the State Administration for Market Regulation assisted the municipal government in developing intellectual property protection work and made a special regulation for exhibits from overseas regarding inspection and quarantine.

China has become the largest flower producer in the world, with a planting area reaching 14,000 square kilometers in 2017. Sales volume also surged from 600 million yuan ($87.1 million) in 1984 to 153.3 billion yuan last year.

This is the second time for China to host a high-level horticulture expo. Kunming, Yunnan province, hosted the expo in 1999.

Visitors can enjoy more than 2,500 cultural activities, including parades, throughout the expo.