The Third World Botanical Garden Conference will be held in Wuhan, an industrial and commercial metropolis on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in September of 2007.

China will be the first Asian country to host the conference.

The previous two conferences were respectively held in the United States and Spain.

Li Luyao, an official with the Wuhan Botanical Garden's Horticulture Center, said specialists from more than 80 countries and regions will attend the conference, during which the discussion will mainly focus on the "sustainable and harmonious development of plants and human existence."

The Wuhan Botanical Garden last year submitted a formal application to Botanical Garden Conservation International, the initiator of the conference, to host the event.

The World Botanical Garden Conference is held every three years. It is designed to provide a platform for botanical garden experts from all over the world for communication.

Built in 1956, the Wuhan Botanical Garden has cultivated more than 7,000 kinds of plant species. It boasts the largest Chinese gooseberry propagating stock in the world and the biggest aquatic plant nursery in East Asia.