The 162-day International Horticultural Expo 2019 had its grand opening ceremony on Sunday. Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote speech at the ceremony, stressing that efforts must be made to maintain ecological balance so that future generations can enjoy sustainable development. He also highlighted the importance of nurturing a stronger connection between humans and nature and managing environmental issues in a scientific way.

Echoing President Xi's speech, this year's international horticultural exhibition sets its theme as "Live Green, Live Better." The event aims to showcase the progress China has made in the horticultural field and beyond, and promote green development.

During the expo, most notably, China will demonstrate advanced technologies pertaining to ecological maintenance.

The expo brings together novel technologies and traditional garden culture, and provides visitors an immersive experience. For instance, augmented reality and mobile streaming media will be applied to boost human-machine interaction and help visitors have a  better experience of appreciating plants. The latest 5G technology, robot guides, telemedicine, autonomous driving, and unmanned drones will be used to guide visitors and maintain basic facilities at the venue.

Approved by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and recognized by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) as an A1 exposition, the Beijing Expo is the largest horticulture expo of this level in history. The theme park covers a total area over 2000 square meters, with over 16 million expected visitors from both home and abroad.

As per the AIPH rules, a Horticultural Expo of A1 category can be held in the same country only after an interval of at least ten years. Since the 1999 Kunming expo, which was held in China's southwestern city of Kunming, this is the second time that China is hosting such a high-level horticultural expo.

The AIPH was set up after WWII with the aim to build ties with European horticulturists. Gradually the event has evolved into a pageantry that not only promotes appreciation of plants but also champions the cause of sustainable development.

China, as the biggest developing country, has been inextricably entangled in environmental difficulties, and since the 1980s, the country has enacted a series of policies to mitigate environmental risks. In this context, the broad aim of the Beijing Expo is not only to present gardening products and display state-of-the-art technologies, but also to promote the awareness of environmental protection and reaffirm the importance of environmental protection as a national strategy.

Such a pursuit for sustainable development was enshrined in the country's 2018 constitutional revision, which proclaims that ''the state protects and improves the living environment and ecological environment, and prevents pollution and other public hazards.'' As a cardinal law for environmental protection, the Environmental Protection Law of China was enacted to implement the constitutional commitments in this regard.

While it takes some time to build an environmental statutory framework, China is now on the way of constructing such a legal project, and in the near future, environmental promises will be carried out through legal measures.

As the main body of the Beijing Horticultural Expo, the China Pavilion, the massive building hosting horticultural displays from different parts of China, vividly embodies a new dimension of the "Chinese dream," where the air is clear, the rivers are clean and the plants flourish.