The six-month-long exposition will help participants promote themselves and exhibit to the world their achievements in different fields of horticulture, the organisers said ahead of the '99 Kunming international horticultural exposition.

The exposition, showcasing the highest standard in horticulture, is a grand international exhibition of fine arts in horticulture and rare species of plants, they said.

Some Indian private companies are taking part in the event, Indian embassy sources here said. Pakistan and Bangladesh are taking part in a big way.

The theme and aim of the horticultural show is to promote the harmonious co-existence between man and nature in the 21st century, one Chinese official told newsmen.

Hailed as the last grandworld exposition of the century, the event has attracted world-wide attention and is expected to bring some 10 million foreign and domestic tourists to the picturesque spring city of China.

Chinese president Jiang Zemin will inaugurate the exposition, the first of its kind ever sponsored by China. World leaders including Israeli president Ezer Weizman, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe, Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk would attend the opening ceremony.

Major European powers in the horticulture industry are participating in the exposition including the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and France, the world's major flower producers.

There are five indoor exhibition halls, namely, China hall, international hall, grand greenhouse, man and nature hall and science and technology hall at the venue.

Further, six specialised outdoor exposition areas for trees, medicinal herbs, potted landscapes, bamboo, tea and vegetables and fruits, and three outdoor garden exposition areas featuring gardens planted byChina.

Officials said they had successfully moved plants from all over the world, many rare and precious species, to the venue.

There are more than 400,000 trees and shrubs of more than 2,000 species planted over the 218 hectares site.

The Chinese government has invested more than 13 billion yuan (about 1.6 billion US dollars) for preparations for the exposition while the city government of Kunming has spent two billion yuan (over 24 million US dollars) for improving infrastructure facilities.

Official reports said some five million pots of flowers had been placed in every major street and lane of the city that has a population of 3.8 million.