南京中山植物园 - Nanjing Zhongshan Botanical Garden

I arrived at the Nanjing Zhongshan Botanical Garden, CAS on the morning of July 18^th and was met by Dr. TANG Shijie, Assistant Director. I then had the wonderful opportunity to speak with him and several other members of management from various departments including Horticulture, Education, and Living Collections regarding my project and the operation and organization of the botanical garden. At this time, I was met by a friend of mine (a former Chinese tutor at the University of Delaware) named GAO Lulu and her friend from Nanjing, ZHAO Qi. Lulu agreed to attend the meetings with me in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai in order to help translate for me. Following the discussion, Mr. LI Naiwei, a Master’s student at the institution, gave a tour of the grounds and gardens.

Mr. Li, Me, Lulu, and Qi in front of the main entrance to the botanical garden

Nanjing Zhongshan Botanical Garden (南京中山植物园) was the first national botanical garden in China and was originally established in 1929. At that time it was named in honor of the recently deceased Chinese leader, Dr. SUN Yat-sen, whose efforts helped to topple the Qing Dynasty and found the Republic of China in 1912. Dr. Sun (孙逸仙), SUN Yixian in Mandarin, was also called SUN Zhongshan (孙中山) and as a result many parks, roads, institutions and universities across China were named Zhongshan in memoriam of Dr. Sun. Therefore, the Nanjing Zhongshan Botanical Garden’s English name is often translated as Nanjing Botanical Garden, Memorial Sun Yat-sen.



The botanical garden comprises 186 hectares (just under 500 acres) in a picturesque setting adjacent to the Qian Lake with the ancient city wall of Nanjing bordering a large portion of the property (built during the Ming Dynasty – it is the longest city wall in the world). It is divided into two gardens on either side of the main road running through the property. The new portion of the garden, bordering the Qian Lake and boasting an incredible view of the city wall, has a huge new conservatory complex and seasonal display areas.

A view from the botanical garden of the ancient city wall across Lake Qian