South Mountain Botanical Garden
| South Mountain Botanical Garden | |
|---|---|
| Type | Botanical garden, Urban park, Forest park |
| Location | Chongqing, China |
| Area |
117 hectares (core) 551 hectares (total) |
| Created |
1954 (established) 1959 (open to public) |
| Operated by | Chongqing Municipal |
| Status | Open all year |
South Mountain Botanical Garden (Chinese: 南山植物园) is the largest botanical garden in Chongqing. It is a major urban park of central Chongqing, and it is one of the 8 major civil projects of Chongqing Municipal. It is located on Tongluo Mountain, an anticline range in southeastern edge of central Chongqing area. Totally 1646 plant species are raised in the garden, most of which are subtropical low mountain species. Triassic and Jurassic sedimentary rocks and geological structures are distributed throughout the garden. The botanical garden is divided into many smaller gardens. Rose garden, camellia garden, plum blossom garden, orchis garden and the endangered species garden are most popular ones. The Great Golden Eagle, a gold-colored cement eagle statue of more than 50 meters tall, is set in this garden. It is one of Chongqing's landmarks, and is used as a navigation mark by some airlines flying to Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.