Beijing’s Yanqing district has speeded up its preparation for the upcoming 2019 China Beijing International Horticulture Exhibition and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

By the end of 2018, the district had trained up to 200,000 people, including volunteers, hotel and restaurant staff members and security guards, for the two events, according to the local authorities.

Set to open on April 29, the 162-day expo will display the latest achievements in floriculture and fruit and vegetable farming at the foot of the Great Wall. The expo park will open by Oct 7 and cover an area of 503 hectares.

Some villagers in Yanqing have renovated their houses to accommodate the visitors to the expo.

Gu Jianfeng, 39, operates a homestay hotel near the expo park. “Guests staying at our hotel will be able to see the scenes of the park,” he said.

He expects that 50 guesthouses will be ready before the expo park opens in April.

The local vocational schools are offering various training courses for the nearby villagers to better serve the events.

Wang Guiping, 50, who has participated in a course for steamed flower buns, said she was glad to learn the skills. “They will help me run my own farmyard better at Yanqing.”