Xishuangbanna of southern Yunnan is biogeographically located in a transitional zone between tropical Southeast Asia and subtropical East Asia and lies at the intersection of the Indian and Burmese plates of Gondwana and the Eurasian plate of Laurasia. It is a unique place with cultural and biological diversity.

A few years after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, a group of scientists led by an eminent botanist, Professor CAI Xitao were sent to Xishuangbanna to explore the region for its strategic plant resources. Professor CAI had first visited the area in the 1930s and knew of its great botanical wealth. Based on the success of this mission and the importance of the biogeographical region, Professor CAI Xitao presented a proposal to the Chinese Academy of Sciences to establish a botanical research institution in Xishuangbanna. It was officially approved in 1959 and named the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

During the initial stage of development, with over a dozen of expeditionary scientists and about 30 locally hired workers, the pioneers of XTBG experienced extreme difficulties. They learned basic survival skills from the indigenous ethnic minorities, such as hunting and gathering for food, as they discovered the scientific wonders of the tropical forests. The different scientists, some working on economic botany and the cultivation of tropical plants while others focused on plant community ecology, enjoyed sharing their new home in the remote tropical jungle.　

By 1963, when CAS held its first meeting on the work of its botanical gardens, XTBG had been quite successful in its initial objectives of creating a sustainable station for scientific research and horticultural experimentation. XTBG had established over 1500 species in its living collections, created a herbarium, a nursery and the necessary administrative office buildings and laboratories. Ongoing experiments on the cultivation and domestication of wild plants, such as Hodgsonia macrocarpa (an oil plant), Rauvolfia vomitoria (a medicinal plant), Musa spp. (wild bananas), and Manihot esculenta (a starch plant), successfully introduced these economically important species to become widely used for national needs. 

In 1965, a field research station on the biogeography of tropical forests in Xiaojie, a small village near the China-Myanmar border, was moved to XTBG, after experiencing numerous security problems. This group joined the department for plant community studies. Experiments to mimic the complex structure of tropical rainforests using directly managed Rubber-Tea communities were initiated at this time and continue to this day. XTBG and its many missions were indeed devastated during the Cultural Revolution, particularly the years of 1966-1970.　

From 1971 to 1978, XTBG was renamed the Yunnan Institute of Tropical Botany (YITB) and placed under the administration of Yunnan Provincial Committee for Science and Technology. When Professor CAI Xitao resumed the directorship, the garden began to recover. Mr. DENG Xiaoping’s inscription for the name of the Institute aroused great confidence in the previously disheartened researchers. From 1979 to 1988, YITB was returned to the Chinese Academy of Sciences from the Yunnan provincial government;　

From 1988 to 1996, the garden and its staff were split into three parts. The previous name, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, was restored to the remaining section and it became part of the Kunming Institute of Botany (KIB), CAS;

From 1997 until the present, the Kunming Institute of Ecology of CAS was merged with XTBG.　 XTBG was separated from KIB and once again become an independent institution under the direct administration of CAS.

Under the support of the “knowledge innovation program of CAS” since 1998, XTBG has recovered from its previous stagnation and gradually matured into an important international research institution.　　

Vision andMission

In 1997, with its return to an independent research institute, CAS assigned XTBG several tasks:　

XTBG should base itself in Yunnan;

Examine the tropical regions of southwest China and southeast Asia, targeting transitional biota and ecosystems at the subtropical boundary;

Study forest ecosystem structure, function and dynamics as well as the impacts of human activity and environmental change;　

Discover the mechanisms of species extinction;　

Develop strategies and methodologies for effective biodiversity conservation;　

Explore appropriate technologies for sustainable use of plant resources.　

These efforts should contribute to the theoretical and technological innovation of forest ecosystem ecology and conservation biology and to promote sustainable socio-economic development.

 Based on these tasks, XTBG set its vision and mission as follows:

VISION:

XTBG envisions itself as a Noah’s Ark for tropical plants, an innovative center for plant diversity conservation and ecological research, and an attractive and relaxing place for the general public to enjoy and become educated about the beautiful tropical forests of Xishuangbanna.　

 MISSION:

Promote science advancement and environmental conservation through the implementation of collaborative multi-disciplinary research programs, horticultural exhibition and public education of tropical botany.