The New Zealand Government is spending 3.7 million NZ dollars (US$2.4 million) to build a classical Chinese garden in Dunedin, a south city of the country.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark announced the project in Dunedin Tuesday.

The prime minister said the garden will be a spectacular site with hopes it will become a significant tourist attraction.

Clark said it will acknowledge the sister city connection between Dunedin and Shanghai and honor the role that the Chinese community played in settling the region and the rest of the country.

The garden will be constructed on a site gifted by the Dunedin City Council.

Shanghai local government and museum officials will help design it.

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2006)