In replica, of course.

Other colourful features are a themed parterre made of hundreds of thousands of flowerpots and giant statues of the five Friendlies, the mascots of the 2008 Olympics.

"We have tried to combine gardening techniques with current social themes in the best way," said Zhou Jianping, vice-director of Beijing Gardening and Forestation Bureau. "This year the increased number of displays are more eye-catching than ever before."

A 1:25 scale replica of Lhasa's Potala Palace in front of the Great Hall of the People celebrates the completion of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. A "train" coated with Chinese flowering crab-apples runs across the "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" and arrives at "Lhasa" which represents the capital of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The statues of the Friendlies will be illuminated at night to grace the 60-metre-long parterre set near the centre of the square. The parterre is made up of 120 kinds of flowers and 500,000 flowerpots, with the theme of "all the people of one mind."

"Of the 120 kinds, 50 are new species, and are also candidates for the 2008 Olympics decorations," Zhou said.

"All the large ornamental flowers and bonsais will be transferred back to nurseries in the Beijing suburbs, as we have been doing for years, and other annual flowers will be recycled as fertilizer."

Zhou said the design of the square's decoration this year is more public-minded. The parterre has been moved 10 metres to the south compared with previous years so that more people can watch the raising of the national flag on Sunday morning.

A large fountain sits in the middle of the parterre, shooting water as high as 38 metres.

"Technicians will lower the amount of gushing water when it is windy to avoid spraying tourists nearby," Zhou said.

"We really enjoy seeing the flowery architecture here. It is one of the most beautiful birthday gifts to our great republic," said Wang Xiaoying, a visitor from East China's Shandong Province, on holiday in the capital with her family.

Liu Xin from Shanghai said: "We feel proud seeing the replicas over there. It is just miraculous thinking of what we have achieved in the past few years."

Besides the decorations in the Tian'anmen area, Beijing is a sea of flowers, with more than 3 million flowerpots prepared and arranged by community centres, companies and organizations.

(China Daily 09/30/2006 page1)