The trees will be displayed in the park's central exhibition hall during the festival, which runs from April 7 to 16.

The trees, which cost more than 2 million yuan(US$247,500), arrived in the city from Osaka, Japan last week.

The most impressive of the trees is more than a century old and cost more than 70,000 yuan, according to Fan Xiaofeng, a spokesperson for the festival organizing committee.

More than 2 million flowers will be displayed during this festival.

"This is the first time that the festival is sponsored completely by local corporations, not the government," said Fan.

The international garden inside Changfeng Park, which covers more than 4,000 square meters, will be the largest exhibition area for this year's festival. Flowers from 13 countries will be presented to the public, with many making their debuts in Shanghai.

China will boast its wild Chinese roses from Yunnan. The roses were taken into space aboard"Shenzhou VI" last year for genetic testing.

The garden will also be home to a display of 380,000 tulips from the Netherlands.

New varieties of the flower will account for up to 30 percent of the tulips on display, according to Fan.

"We have new members such as the'black queen,''diamonds,' and'Darwin' species," said Fan.

When they are in full bloom, the"diamonds" have curled petals, and come in a mixture of red, yellow and blue.

Organizers must find a way to make sure all of the flowers bloom by April 7 and stay in bloom for the entire nine-day event.

Fan said all flowers were kept frozen for some time before they were planted in the park, so they should all blossom at the same time.

"Our experts are doing their best to make the flowers last longer," said Fan."Visitors don't have to worry."

The opening for the event, including a concert, will be on the night of April 6 at the park.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)