The capital plans to add 4,200 hectares of trees and lawns to its urban areas by 2010, the government said Thursday.

A report from the Beijing Municipal Gardening and Forestation Bureau said the city's per capita "green area" would increase by four square meters to 15 square meters in the next five years.

The host city of the 2008 Olympic Games has been working to create a greener environment. The report said some old, dilapidated houses would be demolished and replaced with new buildings and "green areas."

Beijing has now 38,877 hectares covered by trees and lawns, which represents a forestation rate of 42 percent.

An earlier report from the bureau said local horticulture workers and technicians have developed ways to enable chrysanthemums, Chinese roses and other plants to bloom throughout the summer.

In July and August, Beijing is short of flowers due to the scorching sun but the horticulturists expect the blooms during the Olympic Games.

(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2006)