Shangri-La Alpine Botanical Garden (香格里拉高山植物园) is the world’s first alpine botanical garden in a low latitude and high altitude region, and it is currently the only botanical garden in China’s Tibetan area. Covering an area of 7,247 hectares, the botanical garden is located around the county seat of Shangri-La, adjacent to the Napahai Nature Reserve, and encompasses the original subalpine and alpine coniferous forests along both sides of the Shuodugang River.
The garden is home to over 900 species of native alpine plants, including nationally protected species such as Allium przewalskianum, Cyatheaceae, Paris polyphylla, Fritillaria cirrhosa, and Crataegus chinensis. Secondary vegetation types include subalpine pine forests, deciduous broad-leaved forests, hard-leafed subalpine oak forests, shrubs, limestone mountain shrubs, and subalpine meadows. At the same time, the botanical garden locally conserves more than 620 species of plateau plants and translocates more than 400 species of wild and cultivated plants from domestic and foreign sources, serving as a “Noah’s Ark” for plateau plants.
From April to October, the garden is in full bloom with tulips, daffodils, primroses, rhododendrons, orchids, Artemisia argyi, Pulsatilla, lilies, Artemisia rupestris, Gentiana, roses, Aconitum, and other high-altitude flowers. From September to November, it is the fruit-watching season, with enticing fruits from various species such as Cotoneaster, hawthorn, Berberis, and barberry.
Since its establishment in August 2001, the botanical garden has completed the construction of basic facilities such as fences and irrigation systems for the local conservation sub-garden of Pulsatilla, covering 367 hectares. This has led to the gradual restoration of vegetation that was previously destroyed, and the population of rare bird species inhabiting the forest within the garden has continued to increase. Additionally, the garden actively introduces a variety of rare plants, including Pulsatilla, Artemisia rupestris, Acer pentaphyllum, and yellow peony. It has also successfully cultivated irises and introduced pineapple flowers from Belgium.
Basic Information
| Estimated Length of Tour | 1 – 2 hours |
| Ticket Price | 30 RMB |
| Opening Hours | 9.30 – 17.00 |
| Telephone Number | 0086-0887-8227786 |
Location and Transportation
The Shangri-La Alpine Botanical Garden is located in Jiantang Town, Shangri-La City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province, near Yila Grassland. You can take bus Shangri-La 12, get off at Gongbi Village Stop (贡比村站), and walk about 1 kilometers to the west to reach the attration.
