Shunde, a city in south China's Guangdong Province, has beaten six other cities in the bid to host the 2006 world bonsai exhibition, city officials said.

This is the first time a city in China, the origin of bonsai, the art of cultivating miniature trees, will host the event.

The decision was made by the Bonsai Club International (BCI) atits 2002 annual session earlier this month in Orlando, Florida, inthe United States.

Shunde emerged the winner in a competition joined by cities from Germany, Switzerland, India, Indonesia, Singapore and the United States.

The BCI is the world's largest bonsai association, with a history of over 40 years and members in more than 80 countries.

The officials said Shunde cherished its hard-won victory and would do its best to make a success the exhibition, to be attended by bonsai artists and businesses from over 80 countries.

( Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2002)