The largest roof top garden in the city was completed recently on top of a slaughterhouse in Changning District in an attempt to disperse the terrible smell and make the environment more beautiful.
The 14,000-square-meter garden, which costs 14 million yuan (US$1.69 million) to build, features some 40 kinds of trees and bushes, a 100-meter-long fish pond, pavilions and 500 colorful lights.
Official with the greenery administration of Changning District said the project is one of the major greenery achievements in the city this year and an experiment to test the feasibility of promoting roof gardens citywide as well.
Gardeners taking care of plants in the garden said all the plants are growing in light-weight soil specially tailored for roof gardens, so there is no worry of crushing the roof or being unable to nurture the plants.
The fish pond might be the most creative piece in the garden. Directly based on the toughened glass ceiling, it allows people working inside the slaughterhouse to enjoy a shadowy view of fish moving about right over their heads.
In addition, a drainage system was installed to prevent rainwater from pooling. A special waterproof layer between the roof and the vegetation directs extra water flow into the drainage pipeline.
"It's marvelous," said a security guard who has been working at the slaughterhouse for eight years. "We have been liberated from the unbearable smell since the project took shape at the end of last year."
Gardeners say rooftop vegetation can lower the indoor temperature of a building by about 3 degrees Celsius and cut energy consumption by up to 40 percent.