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VOLUME 34. NUMBER 1 JANUARY /F EBRUARY 2O07

The Gardens of KunmingIn an exclusiye report from China Dan Cooper offers a gltmpse

of the botanical wonders

ost people visit Kunming to see the

fabulous natural landscape of the Stone

Forest and for a taste of the cultural life of

the city's 28 ethnic groups, with their colourful

costumes, folk dances and cuisine. But Kunming also

boasts two gardens worth visiting, th€ Kunming

Botanical Garden and the World Horti-Expo Garden.

More than B0 per cent of Yunnan province is

mountainous, and the change in elevation is

dramatic, from 6,714 to 76 metres (about249 to

22,027 feet) above sea level. This wide range

means the province offers great diversity in plant

life, from alpine to tropical and everything in

between, including lotus, bananas, fern palms,

larch, tea shrubs and blue poppies. Kunming is a

showcase for many of these Plants.

I(nown as the City of Eternal Spring because of

its moderate year-round climate, Kunming boasts

an average temperature of 13"C (55'F), and itreceives no frost. At 2,000 metres (6,562 feet)

above sea level the city's climate is ideal for

growing a wide range of Plants.

KUNMING BOTANICAL GARDENLocated 1 1 kilometres (nine miles) north of

downtowfl, the Kunming Botanical Garden,

which is linked to the Chinese Academy of

of Yunnan's capital citY.

Sciences, was created in 1938. Its 44 hectares

(just over 100 acres) are home to 4,000 taxa, 13

speciali zed gardens and a modern exhibition

centre with lovely photos whose accompanying

text is, unfortunately, only in Chinese although

the botanical names are provided. Yunnan

province is noted for eight native flowering plants:

Rhododendron, Camellia, Magnolia, Primula,

Litlum (eight species, ffid the fwo-metre tall

Cardlocrlmum giganticum, a related genus that's

paft of the Liltaceae family), Gentiana (6 species),

Meconopsis (6 species) and a host of orchids.

Most of these plants can be seen on the grounds of

the botanical garden, and they appear in a

comprehensive book published by the garden,

which is available in both English and Chinese.

When our group visited in early October, the

lotus flowers were just finishing and the leaves

on the larch were starting to turn yellow insharp contrast to the pink begonias that were

growing in the rich red loam of the garden beds.

The entrance pathway is lined with ginkgo trees

and leads to a laneway called Sweetgum Avenue

which opens onto the medicinal plant gardens,

which we thoroughly enioyed visiting.

Spring is the best time to visit the gardens,

although different species of rhododendrons and

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Azalea and banana plants

growing in Kunming Botanical

Garden among the karst rock

typical of the area.

12 Trellis O JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2007

azaleas are in bloom in all four seasons. Decemberto January is best for magnolias, January to February

for camellias, April to May for lilies. A briefintroductory pamphlet with a map of thegardens is available for 1 yuan (about 1 5 cents).

WORLD HORTI.EXPO GARDENLocated northeast of the downtown area, the WorldHorti-Expo Garden, which opened in lggg,looks a

little tired. If you plan to visit, don't be put offby the kitschy Disneyland-like entrance andthe huge China Hall filled with tacky shops.Walk through these and head straight for theDomestic Chinese Gardens. You'll be rewardedwith a display of well-designed gardens repre-sentative of every region of China. Each gardenhas plants native to its area and is comple-mented by local architecturaland geographical features,from pagodas to towering"mountains". It's like a hugeoutdoor Canada Blooms butwith plants that bloom intheir proper season insteadof being forced for an earlydisplay. Another section ofthe garden showcases less

interesting, smaller interna-tional gardens. The gardenrepresenting Canada features

Japanese maples but little else that would befound in a typical Canadian garden. Admissionto the World Horti-Expo Garden is 100 yuan(about $ 1 5).

Plan on spending at least half a day at each ofthese gardens. It's a great way to recover fromthe crowds of tourists at the Stone Forest.Kunming's popularity with backpackers makes ita relatively easy city to reach, with internationalflights from Bangkok and Singapore anddomestic flights from several cities in China.O>( >( >( >( >( >( x >( x >( >( >( >( x x >(Dan Cooper is a Master Gardenery freeknce wrtterand photographen Dan and hts wife are touringChtna vtsittng botanical gardens. He is also Wtngto arrange a seed exchange between thesegardens and the TBG.

13 Trellis O JANUARy /FEBRUARy zooT

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