XUHUI District has finished renovating a garden in an old residential community that includes a wide variety of herbs to improve the environment and enrich people's life.

The May Garden in the Meilong Jiucun covering 450 square meters is renovated from a former community activity room and a piece of cement playground, Wei Min, the designer ofthe garden told the public at Hui Forum where artists and designers are invited to give free lectures to residents.

The forumsare held in an80-year-old former monastery in Xuhui weekly. The theme of this week is “How Designers Make the City Better.”Other lecturers include Liu Yichun, the designer of the Long Museum and a famous local cartoonist Murong Yindao.

After the renovation, over a dozen of herbs and flowers have been planted in four small lands in the garden. Plants include rosemary, lavender, water lily and bamboo.

Several herb boxes have been set up for those on wheelchairs and visually handicapped to smell and touch. An insect land was designed for children to recognize various kinds of insects, she added.

The renovation program is a response to a national campaign to improve living conditions across the country by encouraging greener lifestyles. The trial programs in Meilong Jiucun will later be applied on a broader scale, according to the district government.