Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Tropical botanical garden in Mengla County, China

The Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, founded in 1959, lies on Hulu Island in Menglun, Mengla County, and covers about 900 hectares. It holds over 12,000 living plant species in 38 thematic collections, including a 250-hectare patch of primary tropical rainforest.

The institution was established in 1959 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences as part of early Chinese efforts to advance tropical research. It grew into a regional center for conserving and understanding the southwestern rainforest.

The garden is named after Xishuangbanna, the prefecture in southern Yunnan where it lies, and its Menglun headquarters occupies Huludao, a peninsula formed by a bend of the Luosuo River. It is a national 5A-rated scenic area, and about a tenth of its researchers and students come from overseas, with ties to gardens and universities in more than 50 countries.

Visitors can explore the garden areas on foot along marked pathways that take between two and five hours depending on which sections are visited. It is advisable to wear comfortable shoes and bring plenty of water since the tropical climate is hot and humid.

The garden's 250-hectare patch of primary tropical rainforest is the largest area of its kind preserved inside any Chinese botanical garden. The site also holds a germplasm bank for rare and endangered plants and a seed bank of tropical plants, and it leads the Chinese Union of Botanic Gardens, which links 88 gardens across the country.