Rugao, a county-level city in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, held a promotional conference for its gardening industry in Zhongshan, South China's Guangdong province, on Nov 26.

Rugao boasts a long history in gardening and has even developed its own internationally-recognized gardening style, said Ding Xinghua, deputy Party secretary of Rugao, when briefing attendees on the city's gardening industry.

He expressed hope that business representatives from the two sides would discuss and promote cooperation in training skilled workers and holding exhibitions.

"Guangdong also has a booming gardening industry, and I believe there is ample room for cooperation between the two sides," Ding added.

In recent years, the Rugao government has been rolling out a series of measures to promote the development of its gardening industry.

The city has formed a comprehensive industrial chain involving bonsais, flowers, trees, and gardening projects for the domestic indoor gardening and outdoor landscaping market.

The city also aims to combine gardening with agriculture, education, culture, and tourism to help boost rural vitalization.

 An aerial photo of the Rugao World of Plantings, Nov 6. It covers an area of more than 1,300 mu (86.71 hectares) and has received more than 3 billion yuan ($426.6 million) in investment. It has created over 100,000 jobs for locals and produces more than 10,000 types of flower and tree products for more than 20 provinces and cities around the country. [Photo/IC]