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.
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) was founded in 1959 under the leadership of the renowned Chinese botanist Professor Cai Xitao.
The garden's origins trace back to May 1958, when it was first established in Xiaojie, Damenglong, Jinghong, Xishuangbanna. In May 1958, Prof. Cai Xitao led an 8-person group to Xiaojie, Damenglong, 46 kilometers far away from Jinghong, capital city of Xishuangbanna, to start the pioneering work of creating this tropical botanical garden. However, due to its proximity to the border and security concerns, the site was relocated by the end of 1958 to Menglun, Mengla County, settling on a gourd-shaped peninsula in the Luosuo River. On January 1, 1959, the garden was officially inaugurated on what became known as "Huludao" (Gourd Island).
XTBG is surrounded by Luosuo River, a tributary of Lancang-Mekong River. When Prof. Cai Xitao led the first batch of pioneers to founding the Garden on Huludao, here was a desolated island, with only a Dai ethnic village of 6 households on the riverside. In addition, it was known as a “village of leprosy” for taking in a woman suffering from the disease of leprosy.
At that time, the Garden was mostly occupied by noxious insects and beasts. Swarms of leeches, ants, and lice further made it like a place of exile. The first batch of pioneers consisted of 10 more expeditioners and about 30 local people. The creation of the Garden was themed around “comprehensively researching on economic plants, plant community ecology and plant cultivation, exploring growth characteristics of tropical plant resources, developing tropical plant science, and serving for the development of Chinese tropics.”
Over the decades, XTBG underwent several administrative changes and name revisions. From 1959 to 1970, it was affiliated with the Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS. In July 1970, it was placed under provincial administration and renamed the Yunnan Institute of Tropical Plants. In March 1978, it was reinstated under the Chinese Academy of Sciences as the Yunnan Institute of Tropical Botany, CAS. In January 1987, following an institutional restructuring, most of its operations were reintegrated into the Kunming Institute of Botany and it resumed the name Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden.
Finally, in September 1996, with approval from the Central Institutional Organization Commission, the garden was separated from the Kunming Institute of Botany and merged with the Kunming Institute of Ecology to become an independent research institution under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, retaining its current name.
Today, XTBG is a comprehensive research institution integrating scientific research, species conservation, and science education. It spans approximately 1,125 hectares, preserves about 250 hectares of primary tropical rainforest, and maintains 39 specialized plant collections housing over 14,000 plant species,making it one of the largest and most diverse botanical gardens in the world for outdoor plant conservation.
XTBG co-established a national key laboratory focusing on plant diversity and special economic crops. It possesses multiple provincial and international research platforms, including 2 Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratories and 4 International Joint Laboratories, among others.
XTBG has extensive cooperation with more than 50 countries, and its international influence is constantly expanding, and it has become the most important base for scientific research on tropical plants, a repository for the conservation of tropical plant germplasm resources, and a center for the dissemination of scientific knowledge in China.
With its enduring spirit of "taking root in the borderlands and dedicating oneself to science," XTBG has grown from a remote island wilderness into a world-renowned botanical garden and a strategic national base for tropical plant resource conservation.
