AFTER two days of plenary sessions and symposiums, the delegates of the Fifth International Eco-city Conference went on a field eco-excursion in Shenzhen yesterday.

　Shenzhen Mangrove Nature Reserve, the only State-level nature reserve within an urban area in China, immediately attracted D. Shahriar Kabir of the Independent University of Bangladesh.

　“In Bangladesh, we have a total of 6,000 square kilometers of mangrove forest, and we’re facing some serious problems such as the illegal cutting down of trees, over-fishing and pollution.

　“We lack such a good management system such as what has been done in Shenzhen to protect natural resources,” Kabir said.

　Yitian Village, which has ecological education at community level, deeply impressed the Australian urban ecologist Cherie Hoyle.

　“As a brand-new and young city, Shenzhen has a chance to become one of the most beautiful cities in the world,” Hoyle said.

　Dietmar Hahlweg, former mayor of Erlangen, in Germany, was impressed with Shenzhen.“The tour showed us an excellent mixture of Shenzhen,” he said.