On the morning of August 20, the 12th Xinjiang Nursery and Floral Expo grandly opened at the Hutubi National Nursery Stock Trading Market. This premier event has brought together top domestic industry experts, Chinese and international buyers, and full industry chain service providers. It is dedicated to building an international platform for green industry exchange and cooperation that faces Central Asia and radiates across the country, comprehensively promoting the integrated development of the nursery stock industry across dimensions such as scientific research and innovation, regional branding, and cross-border markets.
At the opening ceremony, Zhou Lu, Deputy Director of the State-owned Forest Farm and Seedling Management Division of the Autonomous Region Forestry and Grassland Bureau, delivered a speech. She pointed out that this year's Expo stands at a new starting point for development and closely aligns with the historic opportunity of jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative. It serves not only as a vital window to showcase the abundant achievements of Xinjiang's nursery and floral industry but also as a key hub platform for deepening precise industrial matchmaking at home and abroad and expanding overseas markets in Central Asia. Looking ahead, the Autonomous Region Forestry and Grassland Bureau will vigorously promote the transformation of the nursery stock industry from mere scale expansion to quality improvement and efficiency enhancement, and solidly advance the construction of standardized nurseries and the breeding of improved varieties. By selecting and breeding high-quality nursery stock varieties that are highly adaptable to the arid environment of Northwest China and meet the demands of the Central Asian market, the Bureau aims to fully integrate the entire industry chain from seedling cultivation to trading and export.
In his address, Gong Hongxing, Secretary of the CPC Hutubi County Committee, emphasized that, anchored at a new starting point for high-quality development, Hutubi County will leverage this Expo as a crucial link and strategic opportunity to continuously deepen precise matchmaking and in-depth collaboration with high-quality enterprises inside and outside Xinjiang, as well as buyers from Central Asia. By promoting interconnected seedling trade, shared planting technologies, and deep industrial cooperation, these small seedlings will truly become a green bridge connecting China and Central Asia, a green vehicle for achieving mutually beneficial economic and trade outcomes, and a shining green business card for jointly building the Belt and Road. This will continue to activate the endogenous vitality of the county's characteristic industries and the immense potential of its opening-up, empowering and enhancing the high-quality economic and social development of the entire county.
Themed "Belt and Road Connects the World, Win-Win Cooperation Builds a Green Corridor," this year's Expo spans three days. The event is organized by Hutubi National Nursery Stock Trading Market Co., Ltd., co-organized by the Hutubi County Nursery and Floral Association, the Horgos City Flower and Tree Association, and the China Nursery Stock Information Network, and professionally guided by the Management Committee of Hutubi County Nursery and Floral Industrial Park. The exhibition floor features 40 carefully designed exclusive booths, showcasing over 80 superior nursery and floral varieties. During the Expo, the organizers have arranged a packed schedule of concurrent events, including special lectures on nursery stock export, closed-door salons on Central Asian nursery stock export, and dedicated corporate promotion sessions. Industry representatives, research institutes, and foreign trade enterprises from across the country have gathered to engage in in-depth exchanges and discussions on core topics such as standardized seedling cultivation, cross-border trade rules, and technology-empowered industry development.
On the front of regional synergistic cooperation, Zhang Zhanli, Vice President of the Dingzhou Nursery Stock Association in Hebei Province, shared his vision for cross-regional collaboration. He noted that in recent years, they have already carried out in-depth cooperation with the Xinjiang region, and the current development of import and export trade is perfectly timed. He expressed his hope that through in-depth exchanges and negotiations at this Expo, high-quality nursery stock from North China will be fully applied and promoted in the northwestern border region. At the same time, he looks forward to introducing the high-quality seedlings cultivated in Hutubi to North China, thereby achieving deep strategic cross-regional cooperation.
As a crucial node in the northern slope economic belt of the Tianshan Mountains and the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Hutubi County boasts a profound foundation in the nursery stock industry. The county currently cultivates up to 136 varieties of nursery stock, with a planting area of 50,000 mu and a total inventory of 230 million plants. Locally, there are 173 professional nurseries, 64 cooperatives, and 41 landscaping and other types of companies, directly driving employment for over 1,500 professional technicians and nearly 2,000 farmers nearby. In terms of foreign trade exports, in the first half of 2026, Hutubi County exported a cumulative total of 230,000 seedlings to Uzbekistan, with export sales reaching nearly 4 million yuan. From January to May 2026, the county's seedling sales reached 9.6 million plants, a year-on-year increase of 42.8%, generating sales revenue of 137 million yuan, demonstrating strong market growth momentum.
Hutubi County has successfully hosted 11 consecutive sessions of the Nursery and Floral Expo. Its local nursery products are steadily sold to multiple provinces and regions such as Gansu, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, and deep cooperative relationships have been established with Central Asian countries including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The industrial model has evolved from a single nursery stock export to an integrated comprehensive output covering seedling breeding, landscape design, engineering construction, and technical training.
Lin Qiang, Director of the Management Committee of Hutubi County Nursery and Floral Industrial Park, stated that the park will provide one-stop supporting services such as business matchmaking, technical study tours, industry-university-research contract signing, and closed-door seminars. It will go all out to help enterprises streamline the entire process system from seedling cultivation, storage and transportation, customs clearance, to overseas distribution, enabling more enterprises to confidently delve into the vast market of green trade in Central Asia and Eurasia.
Zheng Xingguo, President of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Floral Association; Bahadat Khojahmet, Director of the Changji Prefecture Forestry and Grassland Bureau; Zhang Haitao, Party Secretary and President of the Changji Prefecture Branch of the Agricultural Development Bank of China; Dong Zhi, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Hutubi County Committee and County Mayor; Erjan Ahmet, Deputy County Mayor of Hutubi County; and other leaders and heads of relevant departments attended the opening ceremony.