Workers on Wednesday (Sep 22) add the final touches to a sign board in the Zhuzili area on Shennan Thoroughfare for the Fifth China International Landscape and Floral Expo which opens Thursday.

The Fifth China International Landscape and Flora Exposition opens in Shenzhen on Thursday with a grand ceremony.

Occupying an area of 66 hectares in the Zhuzilin area in Futian District, the park features ancient and modern gardening cultures from home and overseas and will be a new attraction for tourists.

Organized by the Chinese Ministry of Construction and the Shenzhen Municipal Government at a cost of 235 million yuan (US$28.3 million), the exhibition will feature more than 400 exhibitors from 67 Chinese cities and 25 foreign countries.

It includes 100 outdoor scenic spots with towers, bridges, lakes and other garden features.

Two special indoor shows will display flowers, unique stones, delicate handcraft and new gardening technologies from different parts of the world.

In addition, relevant academic and cultural activities will include a forum on ecological gardening while opera will also be performed during the exhibition.

Exhibitors from America, Canada, Japan, Kenya and Tunis add an exotic touch to the park.

The city of Houston built a garden reflecting the characteristics of the nine large planets of the Solar System.

The Bolivian Garden, with bright red, yellow and blue colors, vividly displays Indian culture.

A Shenzhen masterpiece is a row of ancient memorial arches with an old well and a vegetable garden is reminiscent of an original scene in the city many years ago.

For the first time, the national post bureau has issued several sets of stamps to commemorate the exhibition.

The expo will last six months. Admission is 50 yuan (US$6).

Editor: Donald