Olympic potted plants placement project to conclude by July 15

(BEIJING, June 21) – On June 20, the project to decorate Beijing ahead of the Olympic Games with over 40 million pots of flowers officially went into action. By July 15, all flowers should be strategically placed around the city.

According to The First, these "Olympic Flowers" will mainly surround the "Bird's Nest," Tian'anmen Square, and Chang'an Avenue.

As the main area for the Beijing Games, the Olympic Green central dome, where the "Bird's Nest" is located, will see about 100,000 square meters covered in petals, the equivalent of about 5 million pots of flowers.

After three years of testing and researching over 2,000 varieties of flora, experts finally came up with the 100 some kinds to be used in this project. These "Olympic Flowers" include Crabapple, Impatiens, Common Zinnia and Rat Tail, quite common in Beijing. Of course, flowers of a rarer variety may also be found in the bunch, including Long-leaf Speedwell.

At the same time that the "Bird's Nest" is being landscaped with these flowers, the scheme will also ensure that Tian'anmen Square, Chang'an Avenue, the Airport Expressway, and Beijing's ring roads are part of the floral display.

Aside from the original lot, an additional 1.2 million pots of flowers are sitting on the bench, ready at any time to replace wilting plants or to refresh the scene a bit.

According to Zhou Jianping, the deputy director of the City Greening Division of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Parks and Forestry, perennial flowers will be renewed while herbaceous flowers that can only live for one year will be recycled, following the "Green Olympics" ideal.