Traveling Around the World - Revisiting Banna, Part 4: Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Number of days：6 days
Time: February
Average cost: 4800 yuan
With whom：a person
Updated: 2024.03.05

From late February to early March 2024, I visited the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences during a trip to Xishuangbanna, Yunnan. This photo shows the entrance to the garden.

The Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was founded in 1958 and is located in Menglun Town, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. Photo taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is a comprehensive research institution and scenic spot integrating scientific research, species conservation, and popular science education. It was designated a national 5A tourist attraction in July 2011. Photo taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences covers an area of approximately 11.25 square kilometers and houses a collection of over 13,000 living plant species, 38 specialized plant areas, and a 2.5 square kilometer area of pristine tropical rainforest. (Photo taken at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences)

The Xishuangbanna Botanical Garden is divided into the East and West sections. Due to time constraints, I only visited the West section. This photo was taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The Menglun Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is the largest botanical garden in China, home to over 13,000 rare plants. Photo taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Here are 38 specialized gardens, including the Hundred Flowers Garden, the Ethnological Botanical Garden, the Banyan Tree Garden, the Exotic Flower Garden, the Celebrity and Famous Tree Garden, and the Rare and Endangered Plant Ex Situ Conservation Area, where you'll never want to leave. Photo taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Here, visitors will find a mystical spectacle of towering "giant buttress roots," cruel "strangler plants," the majestic "one-tree forest," colorful "hanging gardens," peculiar "old stems blooming," and giant vines dancing through the forest. The picture shows the "one-tree forest."

Here are exotic flowers and trees, including flowers that change color, miracle fruit that turns sour fruits sweet, dancing grass that trembles to the rhythm of music, clock flowers that bloom on time, and the "Anthracnose" tree with a highly poisonous sap. Each one of these creates a sense of mystery and awe. Photo taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

This is a red iron tree.

Here are some of the trees planted by Lu Jiaxi, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; a celestial tree planted by Zhou Guangzhao, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and a dragon's blood tree planted by Lu Yongxiang, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The photo was taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Here, you'll find a dragon blood tree planted by Professor Cai Xitao, the garden's founder and first director; wild lychees planted by Pei Shengji, the second director; and ironwood trees planted by Xu Zaifu, the third director. (Photo taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences) The garden also features a diverse collection of exotic flowers and trees, including the Cambodian dragon's blood tree, discovered and planted by Professor Cai Xitao, from which the precious southern medicinal herb "blood-activating elixir" is extracted; the palm palm, a plant used in Dai Buddhist palm leaf scriptures; the peacock-like bird with its tail spread; the desert water-storing banana; the world's most poisonous plant, the curare tree, also known as the "blood-killing poison"; the edible flower of the old stalk of the fire-burning plant; the trumpet-like Datura; the charming yellow reed, resembling the red leaves of Xiangshan Mountain; and the golden fig, with its diverse leaf shapes and vibrant colors. Photos taken at the Tropical Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.