The site of the press conference on Nov 19 [Photo by Yan Tianju / hnr.cn]

Nanyang, in Henan province, plans to invest 300 million yuan ($46.95 million) to upgrade the current Chinese rose expo park into a domestic first class attraction, according to a press conference held on Nov 19.

The city will add an area of 2,000 mu (133.3 hectares) to the Nanyang Chinese Rose Expo Park for more rose display, and plans to complete construction within five to 10 years.

The Wolong district in Nanyang already has planted nearly 30,000 mu of Chinese roses in more than 1,200 categories. New species of the flower arising from the district's independent research and new species of the flower have reached 120.

Some 32,000 people in Wolong district work in the Chinese rose industry. The annual sales volume of the nursery stocks stands at 220 million plants worth 320 million yuan, which helps increase the income of local people by over 2,000 yuan per capita.

The nursery stocks are mainly exported to more than 10 countries and regions, such as the Netherlands, Germany, Britain and Japan, earning foreign exchange of $3 million and amounting to over 80 percent of the national gross volume of rose exports.

The achievements of Nanyang's Chinese rose industry are attributed to the city's advantages of location, climate, soil and species resources. The committed attention from local government, vigorous publicity of news and media, and innovation of leading enterprises offer great prospects for the development of the local Chinese rose industry.

The new Chinese rose expo park will further enhance the competitiveness and influence of Nanyang's Chinese roses in the international and domestic markets and promote local tourism.

Edited by Peter Nordlinger