Xi'an calligraphers demonstrate their different calligraphic techniques at the Taiwan expo, which opened on Nov 16, 2010. Two days after the closing ceremony of the Taipei exposition, the Xi'an horticultural exposition will open, on April 28, 2011.

The organizers of the Xi'an International Horticultural Exposition want to show a harmonious relation of city development to ecological preservation, a senior official has said.

"With the expo, we will prove that a city can modernize without damaging the ecology," said Wang Jun, publicity director of Xi'an's municipal Party committee.

Visitors will discover a new Xi'an with a good, natural environment and prosperous economy, said Wang, who is also committee secretary of the Party's Chanba ecological zone, the expo's main site.

"The expo will enrich city life and stimulate economic and social growth. It will also guide the people to an eco-friendly, low-carbon lifestyle and help them build a livable city," he said.

Then, adding that the Chanba Ecological Zone, is itself a good example. That is because it had polluted rivers, mountains of garbage, and sinking riverbeds when it opened in 2004.

Since then, the people have made an effort to reduce the pollution and restore the ecology, by giving the zone a natural environment.

That environment has significantly increased the zone's value and has made it a popular investment area for western China.

In 2008, the provincial government and Xi'an municipal government decided to locate a financial-business district in the middle of the Chanba Ecological Zone.

Wang said the expo, which runs from to October 2011, is expected to have more than 12 million visitors. The site covers 418 hectares and most of the major buildings have been set up

"We welcome everyone, from China and abroad to come and enjoy it" Wang said, explaining that the site is where the Xuanzong emperor of the Tang Dynasty (AD618907) held an exposition. It showed local specialties and was the world's first exposition on record.

"We are determined to show people that Xi'an is a young, fashionable, green city and one with a rich history," Wang said.

"The Shanghai World Expo's success encouraged us to try to provide the highest-level horticultural expo ever."

Wang explained that the 19 gardens were designed by nine of the world's top gardening masters with help from 10 prominent university landscape architecture schools.

These possible represent the highest level of the gardening art, he added.

Duke Farbo, chairman of the International Association of Horticultural Producers, after visiting the site, said, "You have set a new example."

Zhang Jinqiu, 73, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and one of China's top architects, designed the expo's landmark, the Chang'an Tower.

Zhang is also one of two female architects to win the title of "Construction Master".

The Chang'an Tower stands 99 meters tall and is both observation tower and expo symbol.

Visitors can get a panoramic view of the whole site from the top of the 13-story tower. It is a combination of modern elements and classical style, and is intended to represent the height of the architecture art and to be a gift for future generations.

Wang said that the tower and some other prominent structures will stay in the park after the expo comes to an end.

Eva Jiricna, a British architect and designer, has come up with a special greenhouse for the expo to represent Xi'an's new cosmopolitan image.

New features

The expo will have China's first pavilions with a wildlife theme to show the plight of four endangered species from the Qinling Mountains in southern Shaanxi: the panda; the takin, which resembles a cross between a goat and an ox; the crested ibis; and the golden monkey.

The Japanese garden from the city of Nara will show a stone tablet excavated in the Chanba zone, with the earliest recorded writing of the word Japan.

Wang said that one thing the expo will not have is the luxurious-sort of opening ceremony that the Beijing Olympics, Shanghai World Expo, and Guangzhou Asian Games had.

"Those grand opening ceremonies were successful and showed China's power and its new image. We decided that we didn't need another one, and they cost a lot," Wang explained.

"And, since the expo's theme is 'Green is the fashion', we're saying good-bye to extravagance and returning to the simplicity of gardening."

So, Wang said, the expo will have a simple but meaningful opening ceremony, one that demonstrates a low-carbon, energy-saving lifestyle.

"We will make every effort to hold a wonderful, even influential, event, one that gives new color to an ancient city, and a good example for other Chinese cities," Wang concluded.

(China Daily 01/03/2011 page12)