The Beijing News reports that local authorities want to turn Beijing into a city “shrouded in green and wreathed with flowers” ahead of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
Because of the scorching sun, Beijing is short of flowers in July and August, but science workers and technicians with the Beijing Municipal Gardening and Forestation Bureau said they have developed ways for thousands of flowers to continue blooming in the summer. They are also studying ways to transplant green trees from forests in the suburbs to the Beijing 2008 downtown venues, which would include spraying powder to protect their roots and planting them in special containers.
The bureau is also carrying out a “green roof” project which involves planting green plants on top of buildings that are no higher than 12 storeys along the main avenues of Beijing and beside the Olympic venues.
It is expected that 80,000 to 100,000 square metres of roofs will have plants by the end of this year and by 2008 it will reach 300,000 square metres.
