The 2014 Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition was highly praised by participants who attended the annual meeting of the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH), which was held in Paris, France, on March 19.

The expo, which was held from April 25 to October 25, 2014, attracted more than four million visitors from both home and abroad.

The theme of the 184-day expo was "From the Earth, for the Earth" and it covered such areas as "natural creation", "scientific and technological innovation" and "cultural originality" with programs on the oceans, mountains and ecology.

The theme pavilion of the Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition showcases nearly 2,000 plant varieties from all over the world. [Zhang Yan/For China Daily]

Li Fengli, secretary-general of the Qingdao Expo executive committee, shared committee's experience of organizing the Expo with the participants of the Paris meeting.

He also discussed ways of utilizing the Expo site following the closure of the exposition.

Built upon the original site of the Epxo, the Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition Park will reopen to tourists by the end of March after four months of renovation.

The AIPH annual meeting this year has attracted delegates from countries and regions such as Britain, France, Canada, South Korea, China's Tangshan city, Beijing, and Taiwan.

Tangshan in Hebei province and Beijing will host the International Horticultural Exposition in 2016 and 2019 respectively.

All participants agreed that the 2014 Qingdao expo was a successful event with advanced conception, novel originality, forward-looking planning and well-organized operations, setting a good example for green expos around the world.