Hunan takes center stage at horticulture expo

The Hunan exhibition garden, with an area of 2,450 square meters, was designed like a miniature village hidden in a deep mountain, where the mist-covered pond, grasslands, farmland and wooden houses are merged into one poetic picture.

Hu Changqing, director of Hunan's Forestry Department, said it also brought more than 160 categories of flowers, as well as new plants developed by local research institutes, such as colorful pepper, super hybrid rice and chrysanthemum-like peaches.

The unique cultural products of Hunan are also on display in the garden, including Hunan embroidery, sand painting and nvshu (women's script), a rare Chinese syllabic script used exclusively among women originating in Jiangyong county.

The award-wining bonsai and orchid are also being exhibited at the Hunan pavilion. Local agricultural products, such as tea, tea oil and selenium-rich food are also on display.

"I'm very impressed by the presence of nature, water and forest in the province," said Philippe Pypaert, program specialist for natural science at the UNESCO Beijing office while visiting the Hunan exhibition garden.

"Any expo is a great opportunity to promote particular regions and their products. In the case of Hunan, it's very much related to nature," he said.