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About 40 million potted flowers are decorating the streets of Beijing beginning today as the capital prepares for the upcoming National Day Celebration honoring the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The same number of flowers decorated Beijing for last year's Olympics and Paralympics. As of today, the Beijing Municipality has set up about 5 million flowers along the east-west axis of Chang'an Avenue alone, said Zheng Jianzhong, head of security for Dongdan road.

No main flower parterres, a staple of National Day decorations since 1986, will be on Tian'anmen Square because of the military parade on Oct 1, but 22 large-scale solid parterres will be set up along the Chang'an Avenue, the China Central Television has reported.

The Beijing Olympics and Paralympics proved a "big help" in gearing up for this year's National Day, said officers with the State-owned Beijing Flowers & Trees Corp, the primary provider and decorator of the flowers along the avenue since 1986.

Many of the potted flowers along Chang'an Avenue, which were planted in the company's three labs around suburban Beijing, were chosen from the millions of flowers the company planted this summer, the officer said.

The flowers around the 440,000 sq m Tian'anmen Square are being guarded by professional security personnel on 24-hour shifts. Furthermore, the 350 workers from the Beijing Flowers & Trees Corp who are responsible for transporting the flowers to Chang'an Avenue will each go through cautious "political inspections", according to the Beijing Times report.

Across Beijing, residents, such as those from the Laoshan neighborhood, have showcased their patriotism by placing homegrown flowers around the block.

Questions:

1. How many potted flowers have been set out to decorate the streets of Beijing?

2. Who is the primary provider and decorator of flowers along Chang’an Avenue?

3. How many flowers can be seen on east-west axis of Chang’an Avenue alone?

Answers:

1. 40 million.

2. Beijing Flowers & Trees Corp.

3. 5 million.

（英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Chantal Anderson is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site. Originally from Seattle, Washington she has found her way around the world doing photo essays in Greece, Mexico and Thailand. She is currently completing a double degree in Journalism and International Studies from the University of Washington.