Kunming Botanical Garden

Kunming Botanical Garden was founded in 1938 and is affiliated to the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is located in the Heilongtan Scenic Area in the northern suburbs of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan's "Plant Kingdom", at an altitude of 1,914-1,990 meters. It has a mid-subtropical inland plateau climate, with an average annual temperature of 14.7°C, a rainfall of 1,006.5 mm, and an average annual relative humidity of 73%.

Kunming Botanical Garden is a comprehensive botanical garden that focuses on the introduction and conservation of rare and endangered plants, endemic groups and important economic plants in the Yunnan Plateau and the southern end of the Hengduan Mountains, and the introduction and domestication of resource plants and the ex situ conservation of germplasm resources. It integrates scientific research, species conservation, science popularization and public awareness. The garden covers an open area of 44 hectares and is divided into two parks, the East and the West. It has built 18 specialized gardens (areas), including the Camellia Garden, the Rock Garden, the Bamboo Garden (a waterscape garden dominated by bamboo), the Global Onion Garden (Kunming Center), the Yuxi Azalea Garden, the Leaf and Fruit Garden, the Herb Garden, the Magnolia Garden, the Hamamelis Garden, the Minimal Population Plant Specialty Garden, the Fuli Palace Greenhouse Group, the Gymnosperm Garden, and the Cryptogamous Botanical Museum, collecting and conserving more than 8,700 species and varieties of important plant resources from around the world, especially from the southwest. Among them, there are 4,100 native tree species, 246 species included in the "Plant Red Data" (1992), 516 species included in the "Species Red List" (2004), 45 national first-class key protected plants, 325 national second-class key protected plants, and 52 species of extremely small population wild plants listed as priority for rescue and protection in Yunnan Province and the country.

Kunming Botanical Garden has been successively named as the "National Science Popularization Education Base", "Yunnan Province Science Popularization Education Base", "National Youth Entering the World of Science and Technology Activity Demonstration Base", etc.; the Camellia Garden has won the title of "International Outstanding Camellia Garden".

Kunming Botanical Garden has carried out extensive cooperation and exchanges at home and abroad, and has established academic exchanges and cooperation with more than 200 botanical gardens or botanical research institutions. It has built the Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory for Integrated Protection of Extremely Small Populations of Wild Plants, the China-Ukraine Global Onion Garden Kunming Center, and the International Camellia Variety Registration Center. The President's Office of the International Camellia Society is affiliated with the Kunming Botanical Garden.

Gymnosperm Area: Covering an area of 35 mu, it collects and preserves more than 200 species of gymnosperms such as Metasequoia, Cathaya, Taxus, and Cycas Panzhihuaensis, with a European garden style.

Onion Garden: Located in the East Garden of Kunming Botanical Garden, it covers an area of 5.5 mu and has collected and preserved more than 120 species of Allium plants. It is divided into four areas: ornamental Allium plant area, edible Allium plant area, medicinal Allium plant area and native species collection area. It is the world's first Allium plant special garden jointly built by the Kunming Institute of Botany and the Institute of Botany of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, including the "Kunming Center" in Yunnan Province and the "Tashkent Center" in Uzbekistan.

The best time to see the Allium grandiflorum in full bloom is in early April.

Fuli Palace: Fuli Palace is the earliest recorded greenhouse in the world. It was built in Shanglin Garden during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty and was used to grow southern fruits and exotic flowers and trees. The famous botanist Academician Wu Zhengyi borrowed this allusion to name this greenhouse complex Fuli Palace.

Fuli Palace covers an area of more than 30 mu, and consists of the main greenhouse (tropical rainforest hall, drought hall), orchid hall, insectivorous plant hall, begonia hall, cryptogamous plant hall and outdoor exhibition area, forming a modern greenhouse group that fully integrates the historical and cultural connotations of Fuli Palace, with beautiful landscape layout, scientific plant configuration, and various functional groups complementing each other. More than 2,000 species of plants, mainly tropical characteristic plants, subtropical plants and rare plants at home and abroad, have been collected and conserved.

In Fuli Palace, you can not only appreciate the wonders of the tropical rainforest such as a single tree forest, plant strangulation, large buttress roots, flowers and fruits on old stems, but also feel the rich species diversity and ecological landscape of Yunnan, the "Plant Kingdom".

Fengxiang Avenue is the most beautiful autumn maple viewing spot in Kunming and a popular check-in spot for internet celebrities.

99 ginkgo trees in the leaf and fruit viewing garden

The plant maze in the leaf and fruit viewing garden is designed with the logo of the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Camellia Garden: Covering an area of 66 mu, it is the first specialized garden established by Kunming Botanical Garden. It is the specialized garden with the largest collection of Yunnan camellia varieties and the longest history. The Camellia Garden is divided into eight display and collection areas: East China Camellia Area, Camellia Sasanqua Area, Yunnan Camellia Area, Boutique Camellia Area, International Friendship Camellia Garden, Wild Germplasm Resource Collection Area, Camellia Specialized Nursery and Tropical Camellia Conservation Greenhouse represented by Camellia nitidissima. The Camellia Garden has successively won the titles of International Camellia Garden of Excellence and Kunming City Flower Popular Science Base, and is an important place to appreciate Kunming City Flower (Yunnan Camellia) during the Spring Festival.

Waterscape Garden: The waterscape garden is dominated by monocotyledonous plants. It originates from the water of Heilongtan. The environment is quiet and the scenery is picturesque in all seasons.

Rock Garden: Located in the East Garden of Kunming Botanical Garden, it is the first rock garden and is small and exquisite.

The bamboo garden is exquisite and beautiful, covering an area of more than 2,200 square meters, and has collected and preserved more than 50 kinds of bamboo plants (including variants and transformations). These bamboos have different shapes and high ornamental value, including tall tree-like bamboos, such as Daqinsi bamboo and Pink bamboo; and low ground bamboos, such as Goose feather bamboo and Green bamboo; some are mainly for viewing stems, such as purple bamboo stalks and Tortoise shell bamboo stalks; some are mainly for viewing leaves, such as Philippine white bamboo and Broad-leaved bamboo. Walking in the bamboo garden, looking at the beautiful and upright bamboos, it is quite like Su Dongpo's artistic conception of "I would rather eat without meat than live without bamboo".

The rose area covers an area of 30 acres and collects and preserves more than 100 species of Rosaceae plants, including Yunnan cherry blossoms. It is a great place to enjoy cherry blossoms and go for an outing in spring.

Landscaping