CRI听力:Countdown underway for Beijing Horticultural Expo

The 100-day countdown is underway for the 2019 China Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition. Preparations are in full swing for the upcoming event set to open in April in the capital city.

The expo is set to showcase the latest trends and achievements in floriculture, as well as fruit and vegetable food farming at the foot of the Great Wall in Yanqing district.

An estimated 16 million plant visitors are expected to flock into the capital for the 162-day event set to run from April 29 to Oct 7. More than 110 countries and international organizations, as well as over 120 non-official exhibitors, have confirmed participation. This is set to be the highest attendance in the event's history.

Feng Yaoxiang is with the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition Coordination Bureau.

"There will be more than 2,500 cultural activities throughout the expo which are expected to promote exchanges and cooperation. The event is genuinely innovatory, stretching from the horticultural sector to many other sectors, like vegetables, fruits and Chinese herbal medicine. Meanwhile, there will be many high-tech gadgets which will provide a better range of services, like 5G technology," says Feng Yaoxiang.

According to the organizing committee, the site construction for the expo has entered the final stage. Interior and exterior decoration, electromechanical installation, and outdoor projects are being finished at the core venues.

All infrastructure for 100 indoor and outdoor gardens at the exhibition will be finished by the end of March.

Three major hotels under construction for the expo will be ready for soft opening in March. The three facilities are expected to provide 500 rooms, along with dining facilities for 1,500 guests .

Wu Shijiang, deputy director of Yanqing district, says the government had established a special transportation support group with specific public transit lines designed for the expo that will ensure accessibility for passengers.

"Many new roads have been built around the park. Xingyan Expressway, connecting downtown Beijing to Yanqing district, has already been opened. It is a section of Beijing-Chongli Expressway. Once completed, the whole expressway is available for the expo bus routes and self-driving. The park is also well equipped with visitor accommodation. In this way, the service capacity in Yanqing has been improved and visitors can enjoy better service here."

China has become the largest flower producer in the world, with a planting area reaching 14-thousand square kilometers in 2017. Sales volume also surged from 600 million yuan in 1984 to 150 billion yuan in 2017.

This is the second time for China to hold such a high-level horticulture expo. The first such event was held in Kunming, Yunnan province in 1999.