SHENYANG: It was once named as one of the world's most polluted cities.

But the marked improvement in the environment of Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning Province, could be seen with the opening of the Shenyang International Horticultural Exposition yesterday.

The six-month expo is the second time the event has been held in China. The first one was held in Kunming, capital of South China's Yunnan Province, in 1999.

The expo has the "harmonious relationship between people and nature" as its theme.

Shenyang's expo garden is located on the northeastern outskirts of the city, with 300,000 trees and more than 20 million flowers. Organizers of the expo said they had created almost 100 parks of different styles for the event.

Doeke Faber, president of the International Association of Horticulture Producers (AIPH), said people needed to bear the environment in mind when drafting development strategies.

"We cannot afford the consequences of violating the rule. Shenyang got to know this and is implementing the 'green city concept'," said Faber.

AIPH is a co-coordinating body representing horticultural production organizations all over the world. It was set up in Switzerland in 1948 to promote the international marketing of flowers, plants and landscaping services.

The decision to host the event in Shenyang vindicates the efforts of city leaders to improve the environment and crack down on pollution.

"To hold such an international fair will not only speed up our environmentally friendly urban construction, but also transfer the signal that Shenyang is turning greener and cleaner," said Chen Zhenggao, secretary of the Communist Party of China Committee of Shenyang.

As a major base of heavy industry, Shenyang has long had the reputation of being seriously polluted. It reached a peak when Shenyang was listed as one of the world's 10 most polluted cities in the 1990s in a survey.

Since 2000, however, government efforts have produced startling results.

Statistics from Shenyang Environmental Protection Bureau show that the local government has invested almost 20 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) in the last six years in improving the environment, including increasing the amount of public green areas and shutting down polluted factories and plants.

(China Daily 05/01/2006 page2)