Beijing Botanical Garden
Beijing Botanical Garden consists of the Plant Exhibition Area, the Scenic Spot and the Historical Resorts, the Scientific Research Area and the Nature Reserve. 10,000 categories of plants with a population of 1.5 million plants are cultivated here, for which this one has been regarded as the biggest in north China so far.
English Name: Botanical Garden in Beijing
Chinese Name: 北京朝阳公园
Attraction Type: Beijing Attraction, Park, Nature
Best Time to Visit: March to June
Recommended Visiting Time: about 2-4 hours
Admission Fee: CNY 10-50
Address in English: Wofo Temple Road, Xiangshan, Haidian District, Beijing
Address in Chinese: 北京市海淀区香山卧佛寺路
Why is Chaoyang Park in Beijing so Special?
Beijing Botanical Garden consists of the Plant Exhibition Area, the Scenic Spot and the Historical Resorts, the Scientific Research Area and the Nature Reserve. 10,000 categories of plants with a population of 1.5 million plants are cultivated here, for which this one has been regarded as the biggest in north China so far.
Where is Chaoyang Park in Beijing?
Beijing Botanical Garden is situated in the northwestern outskirts of Beijing, China between Xiangshan Park and Jade Spring Mountain in the Western Hills.
How to Get There?
- Take line 10 to Bagou Station. Then transfer to Western Suburban Line and get off at Zhiwuyuan Station directly.
- Take line 4 and get off at Beigongmen Station. Get out from Exit A and transfer to bus 331 or 563, and get off at Zhiwuyuan Nanmen (the south gate of Beijing Botanical Garden) Station.
- Take line 1 and get off at Pingguoyuan Station. Get out from Exit C and transfer to bus Yuntong 112 and get off at Zhiwuyuan Nanmen Station.
- Take bus 331, 505, 563, or Yuntong 112 and get off at Zhiwuyuan Nanmen Station or Wofo Si (Wofo Temple) Station.
- Take bus 318, 360, 630, or 698 and get off at Zhiwuyuan (Botanical Garden) Station.
History
The Beijing Botanical Garden was established in 1955. It covers a large area of 564,000 square meters. The gardens include a dozen exhibition districts and halls, such as the tree garden, a perennial bulb garden, a rose garden, a peony garden, a traditional Chinese medical herb garden, a wild fruit resources district, an environment protection plant district, a water and vine plant district, an endangered plant district, and exhibition greenhouses for tropical and subtropical plants. There are several Buddhist temples located within the botanic gardens.
Collection
The gardens cultivate 6,000 species of plant, including 2,000 kinds of trees and bushes, 1,620 varieties of tropical and subtropical plants, 500 species of flowers and 1,900 kinds of fruit trees, water plants, traditional Chinese.
The hothouse exhibition is the highlight of the gardens.
- The first room is filled with evergreens and members of the palm family.
- The second room is given over to tropical aquatic plants, including water lilies and flowering taros.
- The third room displays commercial plants and their breeding and propagation. Here there are specimens of the triple-leaved rubber plant, cocoa and coffee trees and the sugar-producing sweet-leaved chrysanthemum which has been introduced into China from abroad.
There are rooms for demonstrating medicinal plants, aromatic plants and succulents. The exhibition of ornamental plants is spectacular with its countless varieties of flowers and grasses. There are over 300 different varieties of orchid, among them a rootless one that relies on fine hairs to absorb water vapor and nutrients from the air.
Besides the hothouse, there is also a national plant specimen hall with a floor space of 11,000 square meters. Specimen houses, plant classification laboratories, research rooms and a lecture hall are arranged around a courtyard linked by arches and trellises.
The Peony Garden was open to the public in 1981. It covers an area of 100,000 square meters and is divided into three sections. Peony Grove is the most important, covering an area of 35,000 square meters.
The plant collection includes many rare species. There is, for example, the metasequoia first discovered in the region of Hubei and Sichuan by a Chinese scientist in the 1940s. Since it was originally believed that it had become extinct during the Paleogene Period (66 million years ago), the discovery of living specimens in China came as a tremendous surprise to botanists.
Other plants in the gardens include Nepenthes pitcher plants, which are carnivorous plants; the golden butterfly orchid with its lustrous yellow flowers; the American redwood; the Japanese blossoming cherry, and the famous “Bodi tree”, the tree under which Buddha sat when he gained enlightenment.
Useful Travel Tips
- Tickets Price and Opening Hours:
| Site | Ticket Price | Opening Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr. 1 to Nov. 15 | Nov. 16 to Mar. 31 | ||
| Botanical Garden | CNY 5 | 6:00 – 21:00 | 7:00 – 19:00 |
| Greenhouse | CNY 50 | 8:30 – 16:30 | 8:30 – 16:00 |
| Wofo Temple | CNY 5 | 8:30 – 16:30 | 8:30 – 16:00 |
| Cao Xueqin Memorial Hall (Closed every Monday) |
Free | 8:30 – 16:30 | 9:00 – 16:00 |
- Combo Ticket: CNY 50 for Botanical Garden + Greenhouse + Wofo Temple
