The city of Rugao in Nantong, Jiangsu province has striven to boost transformation of the forest and tree industry in recent years, from indoor gardening to outdoor landscape gardening.

The city now has 986 companies specialized in planting and sales of flowers and trees, each generating annual output value of one million yuan ($ 150,915), with the total value exceeding one billion yuan.

Taking advantage of its flower and tree industry, Rugao has been focusing on the integration of ecology and tourism. A number of orchards and fruit bases in the city are hot spots of leisure tourism for citizens from Nantong and Yangtze River Delta areas.

Rugao’s department of forestry also offers strong support to local leading seedling companies, cultivating a string of featured tree species. It also became involved in the landscape designs of villas and gardens in the city to propel the transformation of the forest and tree industry.

In addition, industrial experts from universities have been invited to participate in the design, planting and maintenance of flowers and trees, perfecting the industrial chain and further promoting Rugao’s popularity.