She added that in order to publicize the sponge city concept, the group explored Chongqing for a year before finally choosing the garden in Yubei, a popular spot with residents and visitors that is suited to multiple use scenarios, as the best demonstration location.

"One single sponge garden is far from enough to create a sponge city. That requires a network with a broader concept," said Mo, adding that as every engineering project damages the terrain, a sponge city approach should be applied at the same time the decision is taken to build a road, a square or a community.

The technology-driven garden has also attracted a great deal of attention from the public, many of whom have shown interest in becoming sponge city supporters and builders.

"We are planning to take the students to the garden, to show them how a sponge garden actually works," said Zhong Jiali, director of Optimistic Earth (Chongqing), a tutoring institution that teaches environmental protection and natural science popularization to teenagers.

She added that a practical E-STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lesson simulating the garden's working principles is under development so that students can learn the basics during field trips and through modeling.

According to the Chongqing Municipal Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the city has promoted the construction of water absorption capabilities in recent years. By the end of last year, it had 626.9 square kilometers of standard sponge area, accounting for 34.2 percent of the total sponge city area.

Contact the writers at dengrui@chinadaily.com.cn