BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The greenhouse of the Beijing Botanic Garden run by the Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will reopen to the public Wednesday after a massive renovation since late 2017.
The renovation has greatly enhanced the capacity of the garden in conserving and displaying floral diversity, said Wang Yingwei, executive director of the CAS Beijing Botanic Garden.
The greenhouse now has more than 2,000 kinds of tropical and subtropical plants.
After its reopening, visitors will have the chance to see rare plants from countries along the Belt and Road, such as the baobab tree and papyrus. They will also be able to appreciate the water lily flowers in the freezing winter in the north, according to Wang.
Built in the 1950s, the greenhouse is the first in New China tailored to house tropical and subtropical plants. Some of the plants were gifts from foreign leaders, but more are collected by scientists from overseas.
A section of the old greenhouse were preserved as the showroom of insectivorous plants with a high humidity environment.
Founded in 1956, the Beijing Botanical Garden was constructed jointly by the CAS and the Beijing municipal government. The northern section of the garden is run by the Beijing municipal government and the southern section by the CAS Institute of Botany.
The CAS section of the botanical garden covers 74 hectares. Besides the greenhouse, it also homes 15 specified gardens, collecting more than 7,000 kinds of plants in total.
