Why is Menglun Tropical Botanical Garden special?
"Flowing from the west to the east, crystal-clear Luosuo river bend outlines a gourd-shape isle in Menglun." Located on the picturesque isle, the Tropica Botanical Garden was established in 1959 under the leadership of Chinese famous botanist Prof. Cai Xitao.
Covering an area of 900 hectares, a height of 570 meters above the sea level, the isle has the renowned botanical garden by enjoying its largest area and most abundant diversity of flora. Famous for its tropical botanical landscape, a popular saying for the garden is that "you haven't traveled Xishuangbanna if you don' visit gourd isle when coming Xishuangbanna."
Menglun Tropical Botanical Garden Highlights
The garden can be divided into two major sections--the east and the west. The west section is the main tourist part and the east section is used mainly for scientific research and the preservation of the rain forests in tropical valleys. The garden has 13 special sections for plant growing, such as the tropic fruit tree section, the shade-growing plant section, the palm plant section, the water plant section, the national plant section, medicinal plant section, etc.
Visitors can view many rare exotic and endangered plant species here; the dragon tree, the mayten tree, and the poisonous upas tree; the " Clock Flower " that opens and closes along with the sunrise and sunset; the " Dancing Grass " that responds to sound; the " King Lotus " which can support a seated child on the water; the "Mystery Fruit" able to turn sour to sweet, then sweet to sour; and the 800-year-old "King of Tea Trees", which continues to sprout, and give the flavor of its homeland, the land of the Pu'er red tea.