TEDA Tropical Botanical Garden

　　TEDA Tropical Botanical Garden covers an area of 27,000 square meters, with a total built-up area of 5,553 square meters. It is composed of one large pyramid, one small pyramid, and a connecting corridor in between. In addition to housing the country’s only “Bottle Tree” (currently unique nationwide), the entire botanical garden boasts a high level of modernization and intelligence. Visitors can view plants and natural landscapes from around the globe through electronic devices, as if the whole of nature has been brought to TEDA.

　　TEDA Tropical Botanical Garden is rooted in what was once a saline-alkali wasteland in Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), making it a fascinating destination that captivates all who visit. Completed in 2003, it consists of two glass pyramids connected by a 55-meter arched glass corridor — one large and one small, resembling a mother and child. The larger base measures 50x50 meters with a height of 30.88 meters; the smaller base spans 2x25 meters and stands 15.5 meters tall. Both pyramids are constructed from a combination of glass and steel, leveraging the properties of the material to create a novel, minimalist, and ingeniously designed structure that is the first of its kind in China. Surrounded by floral landscaping and water features, the two towers appear like dazzling diamonds set on a green platter — crystal-clear and rich with modern architectural flair. The transparent steel structure and glass curtain wall design have been hailed by renowned structural curtain wall experts in China as two firsts: the largest pure steel-structured pyramid with a point-supported cable glass curtain wall in the country, and the first environmentally friendly, fully intelligent glass curtain wall in China. The structure is simple yet well laid out, with the glass curtain wall and main framework effectively connected via a unique stainless steel and cable system, achieving a seamless harmony with nature.

　　Stepping into the larger pyramid, a cool breeze greets you along with lush greenery, as the noise of the city fades away. This is the Four Seasons Garden, divided into four plant zones: palms, aquatic plants, flowering and fruiting plants, and ferns. Within a compact space, a magical world is created, drawing visitors step-by-step into a poetic landscape. The botanical garden utilizes high-tech methods to automatically control various ecological elements, maintaining optimal temperature and humidity inside the pyramid year-round, keeping spring eternal. Without leaving the garden, you can experience scenery from thousands of miles away. Here, you can see the dense forest landscape of Xishuangbanna, including towering king coconuts over ten meters high, waterfalls, swimming fish, moss, and water lilies. The most eye-catching attraction in the garden is the country’s only Bottle Tree, which is unique nationwide. Imported from Australia, it weighs 9 tons, has a diameter of 2.5 meters, and cost 360,000 yuan.

　　The park is divided into the small and large pyramids. The small pyramid houses several-meter-tall plants native to South America, such as Euphorbia trigona, Cereus peruvianus, Lophophora williamsii, Echinocactus grusonii, and Mammillaria herrerae. The large pyramid adopts the design techniques of classical Chinese landscape gardens to create a multi-angle, multi-layered scenic space. The Four Seasons Garden is broadly divided into a palm plant zone, an aquatic plant zone, a flowering and fruiting plant zone, and a fern and epiphyte plant zone.

　　The small pyramid houses a desert botanical garden, which is a stark contrast to the humid and hot climate of the Four Seasons Garden. Here, the air is dry and there is no sign of water. The desert botanical garden mainly cultivates drought-resistant succulent and cacti plants. The tallest cactus column reaches 5 meters, while the smallest living stone plant is less than 1.5 centimeters — a huge size difference, like an elephant and an ant. The spiky cactus balls, scientifically known as Echinocactus grusonii, come in all sizes and heights, presenting a dazzling array. The larger ones have a diameter of about 1 meter, with emerald-green bodies and golden spines, making them highly ornamental. There are also two rather peculiar plants: one is the “Bottle Tree” (Euphorbia tirucalli), whose branches — both large and small — are bare of leaves and resemble deadwood, but upon closer inspection, these branches are actually segments of varying thicknesses made of green fleshy tissue; the other is the red-flowered, green-leaved “cactus grass,” with spiral-shaped leaves that look like flowers but aren’t, yet are more beautiful than actual blossoms.

　　The entire botanical garden is highly modernized and intelligent. Visitors can view plants and natural landscapes from around the globe through electronic devices, as if the whole of nature has been brought to TEDA.

　　TEDA Tropical Botanical Garden is not only a tourist attraction but also serves as a vehicle for enhancing the urban character of the development zone and creating a favorable environment for attracting investment. It helps further promote TEDA’s people-oriented and business-friendly philosophy.

　　Transportation

　　Address: No. 20, Huayuan Street, Tanggu, Binhai New Area, Tianjin

　　Transportation: Take the Jinbin Light Rail, or bus routes 505, 506, or 820, and get off at Civic Square Station

　　Driving route: Tianjin City — Kunwei Road — Jinzhonghe Street — Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Expressway — TEDA Avenue