Nestled in Haidian District awaits a garden of unique chic. Welcome to the Medicinal botanical garden. This garden offers more than just scenic beauty. It presents a journey into the world of traditional Chinese medicine.
Established in 1955 this garden began as a cultivation and experimentation base for medicinal plants. By 1988 it was redesigned as a medicinal botanical garden. It operates under the Institute of Medicinal Plant Development. The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences supports it. It stands as one of the main medicinal plant parks globally.
Imagine over 1,500 species of ex situ conservative medicinal plants thrive here. This includes commonly used TCM herbs and anti-aging herbs. The Medicinal botanical garden embodies a “Five in One” model. It integrates research germplasm conservation processing science popularization and tourism.
Here you find a serene environment. A man-made lake stretches across the garden. Pavilions corridors bridges and paths decorate its expanse. It divides the garden into distinct sections.
Consider that Beijing Medicinal Plant Garden is the largest specialized garden for medicinal plants in northern China. Over 2130 species are cultivated here. That’s double the number recorded in Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica. This makes it a modern three-dimensional compendium.
In 1984 the garden began blending Chinese herbal cultivation with garden design. This integrated TCM knowledge culture leisure and health care. This created the Chinese Herbal Culture Garden.
During your visit you may notice signs with names and medical values on all plants. This resembles a wild museum. Visitors relieve summer heat and gain knowledge. Many see real herbs for the first time. They recognize names only from prescriptions.
The Medicinal botanical garden offers exhibitions. They guide guests in maintaining health and good life habits. You can see models of “Medicine edible nutrition science”. Other exhibits feature “traditional Chinese medicine beautify”. “The importance of keeping health” is another topic explored.
Some tourists buy honeysuckles after learning they reduce internal heat. Others purchase medicinal plant seedlings. They decorate balconies and harvest tea or soup.
The Beijing Botanical Gardens also feature a hothouse exhibition. It has 13 different rooms. The first room showcases evergreens and palms. The second displays tropical aquatic plants including water lilies. The third room exhibits commercial plants. See triple-leaved rubber plants cocoa and coffee trees. Also find the sugar-producing sweet-leaved chrysanthemum. This was introduced from abroad.
There are rooms demonstrating medicinal plants aromatic plants and succulents. The ornamental plant exhibition impresses with countless flowers and grasses. There are over 300 orchid varieties. One rootless variety relies on hairs to absorb moisture.
The China National Botanical Garden cultivates 6000 plant species. This includes 2000 kinds of trees and bushes. It features 1620 varieties of tropical and subtropical plants. There are 500 flower species and 1900 kinds of fruit trees. Water plants and traditional Chinese plants are also displayed.
Remember Botanist Hu Xiansu championed the garden’s creation for decades. He is known as the “father” of the project.
As we conclude our tour of the Medicinal botanical garden may your understanding of traditional Chinese medicine deepen. Let the harmonious blend of science nature and culture inspire you.