South China's Shenzhen City will host the country's biggest flower and garden exposition Thursday, organizers said Wednesday.

Wu Zijun, director of the Office of the exposition's Organization Committee said about 400 companies or institutions from 25 countries and 67 Chinese cities will exhibit their botanical and gardening products and technology. The exposition covers 66 ha. and costs 235 million yuan (US$28 million).

The show, also known as the Fifth China International Flower and Gardening Exposition, will also showcase 100 types of gardening landscapes from around the world, said the official.

Most landscapes will remain after the exposition finishes on March 23, 2005 as part of a new garden, Wu said. 

The exposition would be the most expensive of its kind China has staged, he said.

The last show held in neighboring Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, from fall 2001 to spring 2002, attracted 1.3 million domestic and foreign visitors.

(Xinhua News Agency September 23, 2004)