Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-Sen is located in the eastern suburbs of Nanjing within the Purple Mountain (Zhongshan) 5A Scenic Zone, adjacent to the ancient Ming City Wall and Qianhu Lake. First established in 1929 as the Memorial Botanical Garden of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, it is China’s earliest national botanical garden and one of the four key botanical gardens nationwide. It operates under an integrated institute-garden system, also known as Jiangsu Institute of Botany, co-managed by Jiangsu Province and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Covering 186 hectares, the garden is divided into two sections. The North Garden focuses on scientific research and ex-situ conservation, featuring 27 themed gardens including medicinal plant garden, rose garden, pine and cypress garden and bonsai garden. The South Garden, also called the Botanical Expo Garden, highlights the magnificent Tropical Botanical Palace displaying tropical and subtropical exotic plants.
The garden conserves over 12,000 plant varieties, including 309 species of nationally protected wild plants, with a herbarium housing more than 800,000 plant specimens. As a research hub for plants in central and northern subtropical China, it carries out studies on plant taxonomy, medicinal plants and ornamental horticulture. Visitors can enjoy diverse seasonal floral views and explore nature-themed science exhibitions. It perfectly blends mountains, water, ancient city wall and dense woodland, known as the “Botanic Fairyland” of Jinling.