South Medicine Garden

South Medicine Garden

The South Medicine Garden is a national AA-level tourist attraction.

The Xishuangbanna South Medicine Garden is a national AA-level tourist attraction, located in the downtown area of Jinghong, the capital city of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province.

The Xishuangbanna South Medicine Garden was established in 1959. Its predecessor was the Yunnan Branch of the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, located in the downtown area of Jinghong, Yunnan Province. Covering an area of over 320 acres, it is mainly engaged in the planting, promotion, and research of southern medicinal plants, the conservation of tropical medicinal plant resources, and the exploration, organization, and utilization of ethnic and folk medicine. It is an important base for the research of southern medicinal biological resources in China. Over the years, it has been committed to the introduction and cultivation of medicinal plants and the promotion of related scientific technologies. In 1999, it was designated as a provincial science education base in our province, after which we placed even greater emphasis on the popularization of science and technology in our work. With the care and support of the provincial and prefectural science committees as well as higher-level authorities, during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period, we achieved certain accomplishments and gained considerable experience. While carrying out scientific research, the science education efforts also met expected outcomes.

Covering an area of approximately 250 acres, the "Xishuangbanna South Medicine Garden," as a provincial science education base, has seen our institute continuously strengthen and improve the construction of the science education facilities in the garden over the past few years. The South Medicine Garden now features twelve functional areas: the Medicine Culture Plaza, the South Medicine Mystery Land, the Herbal Garden, the South Herbal Garden, the Orchid Garden, the Dai Medicine Garden, the Lithophyte Area, the Shade Garden, the Betel Nut Garden, the Graceful Garden, the Scenic Garden, and the Areca Seed Germplasm Garden. Building on past work, we have purposefully intensified efforts in plant introduction. In recent years, nearly 1,000 new medicinal plant species have been added, bringing the total number of species collected and preserved in the South Medicine Garden to more than 1,500. Each preserved plant is labeled with its scientific name, family, habitat, medicinal efficacy, usage, and more, enhancing the display of southern medicinal varieties and allowing visitors to clearly understand the characteristics and uses of medicinal plants. In line with the needs of science education, we have improved and expanded educational facilities. Each specialized garden area is equipped with informational signs, main tourist routes have directional and warning signs, and various locations throughout the garden feature resting tables and chairs for visitors. As a result, both the science education facilities and the tourism environment have been greatly improved.

Currently, the garden has introduced and collected over 1,500 types of southern medicinal plants, ethnic medicines, and other medicinal plants, including more than 30 varieties of precious southern medicinal plants such as Amomum villosum, Semen Sterculiae Lychnophorae, Amomum kravanh, Santalum album, Dracaena cochinchinensis, Acacia catechu, Cinnamomum cassia, and Cinchona. It preserves over 10,000 medicinal plant specimens and houses the country’s largest germplasm resource banks for Semen Sterculiae Lychnophorae, Strychnos nux-vomica, and Rauvolfia vomitoria, as well as over 300 species of native orchids and important southern medicinal plants such as Aquilaria sinensis and Pterocarpus indicus, which have the longest history of artificial cultivation in China.

Address: No. 138, Xuānwèi Avenue, Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan

Type: Botanical Garden

Opening Hours:

8:00-18:00

Transportation

By Car:

① Jinghong Mengyang Bus Passenger Station — Kunmao Expressway — Xiaomo Highway — Roundabout — Xuānwēi Avenue — Destination

② Xishuangbanna International Airport — G214 — Roundabout — G214 (Old) — Xuānwèi Avenue — Sānyè Road — Destination