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You’d think that a flower show, the price of iron ore and the Australian dollar couldn’t possibly have anything in common. But in China, it seems that they do!
The Tangshan International Horticultural Exposition is due to open in Tangshan in April 2016. But Tangshan is one of China’s biggest steel producing cities, creating a city-covering smog that would severely damage its ‘City and Nature, Phoenix Nirvana‘ -themed international show, scheduled to run from April to October.
So what’s the solution?
Shutting down a large proportion of the city’s steel mills for 6 months is the answer, which means that those factories have been going 24/7 trying to accelerate production ahead of the shutdown. The necessary large-scale purchase of raw materials such as iron ore has caused the international iron ore price to spike by 20% in recent days.
And when you have a currency that’s closely bound up with commodity prices, like the Australian dollar, this iron-ore price hike helps boosts our dollar exchange rate.
So there you are – that’s how a flower and garden show can influence the world!
Tangshan is about 200km south-east of Beijing and was completely flattened by a devastating earthquake in 1976 which killed nearly a quarter of a million people. The rebuilding of the city has seen its population grow to 7 million and it become one of the world’s largest steel producing areas.
The Tangshan International Horticultural Exposition opens on 29 April 2016 and runs until 16 October 2016. The core expo area covers 540 hectares and features a variety of pavilions including a horticulturist’s pavilion, overseas pavilion and, somewhat ironically, a low-carbon lifestyle pavilion. Over 20 countries will have displays and a further 28 of China’s regions have built regional displays.
