£ £ HOW far behind is Shenzhen in eco-city building? What should it do to improve its sustainable growth? These were the questions posed by vice mayor Zhuo Qinrui at a round table meeting on Tuesday.

£ £ On behalf of Mayor Yu Youjun, Zhuo was attending the Fifth International Eco-city Conference, which has brought together world's renowned ecological experts. The round table meeting's aim was to exchange opinions on how to help Shenzhen in its ecological construction.

£ £ Referring to the criteria of an eco-city, the experts said that eco-cities are in a state in development rather than remaining static. "Different regions will have different eco-cities. You can't demand that an eco-city in the barren and dry north be the same as one in the subtropical south," said Li Wenhua, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

£ £ Wang Rusong, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, pointed out that the world has yet to have a regional law for ecological planning. He suggested that by working with Hong Kong, and other cities of the Pearl River Delta area, Shenzhen be a pioneer by setting up the world's first law regarding eco-planning which will relate to economic goals, rivers, infrastructure, water, energy, bio-diversity and so on.

£ £ Wang also asked the city to lead the world in setting up a special agency to coordinate its eco-city building.

£ £ Dietmar Hahlweg from Germany, after elaborating on the problems brought about by traffic congestion and pollution, suggested people walk or use bicycle more.

£ £ A local environmental worker asked how to develop wind power in Shenzhen, which has rich wind resources. Ian Douglas of Britain cited a region in his country that has mandatory five percent wind power. Based on what happened in the West, he pointed to the importance of windmills. Douglas also steered the attendants' attention to his "river approach", where an ecologically problematic city brings problems to other cities along the river.

£ £ Professor Song Yongchang tried to define eco-city saying an eco-city is one with sustainable development that has stricken a "balance between man and nature."

£ £ Yu Kongjian, a professor from Beijing University, proposed a reversed planning approach: planning ecologically first, and then planning for the economy.