The launching ceremony of a chrysanthemum botanic garden was held in Nanyang city, central China's Henan province, on April 10. Cao Pengcheng, vice-mayor of the city, attended the ceremony.

The agricultural program, which is also a doctoral research center that will be located in the city suburb, is a cooperative project with Tianjin and Hebei province. It plans to grow 30 million square meters' Marigold — a type of chrysanthemum that is native to Mexico, 330,000 square meters' chrysanthemum for tea, 330,000 square meters' edible chrysanthemum, and 100,000 potted plants for decoration.

Cao also said Nanyang should provide qualified water resources for Beijing and its surrounding regions through the South-North Water Diversion Project, and seek more business ties with Beijing. The vice mayor also said the city will woo more investment projects and qualified professionals to accelerate its economic restructuring.