The staff of the Wuhan Botanical Garden at the Academy of Sciences, under the leadership of Professor Hongwen Huang, did a fantastic job organizing this logistically complex meeting. I was impressed with their foresight in recruiting 100+ university students as volunteers. They worked long hours through the week and were unfailingly enthusiastic, going out of their way to be helpful. I’m hoping APGA might emulate this approach for its annual conferences.

The Congress provided an excellent opportunity for us to meet colleagues from all over the world to compare notes and learn about different approaches to common issues. A typical gathering for a meal such as the banquet feast mid-week included representatives from Australia, Oman, USA, China, the Netherlands, and Sudan. As at APGA conferences, formal programs and informal networking were equally productive. Sara Oldfield, Secretary General of BGCI, discussed their recently published red list of Magnoliaceae with me during an ad hoc meeting, enlisting APGA help in inventorying our members’ ex situ collections as part of a global effort. APGA members made contributions throughout the week, from plenary sessions of Peter Raven and Kay Havens (pinch-hitting for Peggy Olwell, US Bureau of Land Mgmt), to David Galbraith facilitating discussion during the North American networking meeting, and Larry DeBuhr, Steve Clemants, Caroline Lewis, Larry Mellichamp, and Ailene Kane among those giving presentations and moderating sessions.

This really was a trip of a lifetime. I came away from the experience having grown both professionally and personally with many new ideas to share with others. It has given me a greater understanding and appreciation of China – its plants, gardens, culture, and people. It also has re-affirmed my belief that – while faced with daunting changes in global climate, population growth, and an often uncomprehending public – botanical gardens and arboreta throughout the world can make an impact if we work together toward building a sustainable future.

On Wednesday, we visited the Wuhan Botanical Garden during a day-long tour of the city’s cultural highlights. Near the entrance, an unusual display of submerged aquatic plants intrigued me. A flight of steps takes you down below the water level to view the tanks of labeled accessions. The display was laid out in different geographic regions of China. Interpretive panels – all in Chinese – no doubt provided educational information. With the warm sun illuminating the display and tiny air bubbles released from the plants rising to the water surface, it was also very beautiful.

Wuhan Botanical Garden is well known for its extensive Actinidia collection of 57 species and 800 accessions. Decades of kiwifruit research yielded the ‘Jintao’ yellow-fleshed variety, with proceeds from the sale of the intellectual property rights providing revenue for the garden for years to come. I was accompanied by a guide who took me up to a platform overlooking the expansive living collection. It reminded me of New Zealand kiwifruit production without the familiar tall shelter belts protecting the fruit which can be easily bruised. I noticed both the display and accession labels included bar codes.

In another part of the garden we saw a cage over one bed. My guide explained that this was an educational display explaining the difference identification characteristics between opium poppy and other Papaver species.

An extensive medicinal garden featured many of the plant species used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Botanical Garden is also involved with researching these in search of modern applications, such as Tripterygium wilfordii – with an English translation as “Thunder of God Vine” which is being used in treating prostate cancer. Peonies were in full flower, adding color throughout the display.

The 3rd Global Botanic Gardens Congress is being held April 16-20 in Wuhan, China. The Congress is held every three years with previous locations in Asheville, North Carolina, and Barcelona, Spain. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, which includes Wuhan Botanical Garden, is our local host. This year included an event at the Wuhan Botanical Garden celebrating its 50th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI). The theme of the Congress, “Building a sustainable future, the role of botanic gardens” is focusing discussions around the themes of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. The host city of Wuhan is the capitol of Hubei Province in central China, and is located at the confluence of the Yangtze and Hanshui Rivers in an area of more than 1000 lakes.

The Congress has attracted 954 participants from 67 countries. We’re meeting in the Science & Technology Conference & Exhibition Center within walking distance of two of the hotels. The organizing host committee has done a spectacular job coordinating such a complex event. They literally have rolled out the red carpet.

Our arrival was heralded in the local newspapers and large banners with attractive container plantings adorn the conference center.

A fleet of enthusiastic students from the local universities serve as ambassadors, guides, room monitors, and interpreters.

The Congress is a massive undertaking, including 4 plenary sessions, 42 symposia, 7 workshops, and six network meetings. Over 200 oral presentations and 145 poster presentations are being given.

The media has been out in force covering the event. David Galbraith from RBG-Hamilton and I both appeared on Wuhan’s nightly news the first day and numerous others were interviewed to gauge our impressions of the city, the botanical garden, and even our views of China’s role in plant conservation.

When traveling anywhere, whether in the US or abroad, if there is a zoo I try to see it. While here in Beijing we had the chance to stop for half an hour at the Beijing Zoo. When I go to zoos I try to photograph their front entrances. That is what invites a person in and tells you a lot about what you can expect when you are inside.

We arrived in our bus, disembarked and I looked around for the entrance. We were in a parking lot, buses and cars all around us. No real entrance in sight, we were already inside the zoo. It is free to those visiting. We proceeded to the panda exhibit, about a one-minute walk, and had to pay to get into that exhibit. But the rest of the zoo was available to see with no charge. It is early spring and most of the deciduous trees, like the Koelreuteria, Liriodendron, etc. are just budding out. The Salix around the central lake created a spectacular feel and softened the overall scene. Briefly seeing the work being done there with bamboo rakes and brooms, bicycle wheel push carts, and all the watering being done by very long hoses, it was extremely neat and tidy, although the exhibits and infrastructure needed work. A little paint and concrete work would go a long way.

Being in an area that does not get a lot of rain, similar to Southern California, the interior of the outside exhibits was quite in need of upgrading. Compaction is always a problem in those cases. The interior panda area including the public spaces was unique in design and had a nice quality, but was a bit rustic overall with the way the concrete was poured and finished.

We journeyed down into the foothills to explore the Ming Tombs, where 13 imperial leaders were set to rest. We went within the Ding Ling Tomb, which is the only burial chamber to have been excavated during the 1950’s and opened to the public. Intact bolts of silk fabric and other treasures survived over the centuries. While climbing up to the entrance of one of the tombs, we spied these trees growing out of the side of this ancient wall.

Chicago Botanic Garden:                                 

Of all the places we visited in and around Beijing, the Sacred Way was one of the most spectacular landscapes. The Sacred Way – a 650 year old walk into the Ming Tombs – is an orchard at one end with a temple housing an enormous carved stone turtle carrying a tall stone tablet on its back. The temple is set in the middle of four quadrants made of carefully tended lawns and privet hedges with matching tall marble pillars at each corner. A half mile away the Sacred Way ends with a traditional gate. What is in between is both inspiring and humbling.

Connecting the two ends of the Sacred Way is a marble and stone walk lined on each side with a series of 36 gigantic carved marble guardians. These include a dozen military and civilian dignitaries and a dozen pair of real and mythical animals. Each pair of animals has one standing and one sitting. Tradition has it that the sitting animal is resting while the standing one is guarding the Sacred Way.

The guardians were set with a privet hedge carefully pruned for the entire length of the walk and surrounded on both sides with a continuation of the lawn from the temple garden. All of this was set inside two rows of willows forming a backdrop down the length of the Sacred Way. The willows were just leafing out and provided a soft yellow curtain against which to enjoy a walk back into time.

As we strolled down the Sacred Way, we experienced a special moment when the newly formed leaves and the soft setting sunlight and the ancient guardians magically merged to create a once in a lifetime experience.

The Beijing tour started with a morning walk through Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City. Being the busy tourist season, there were masses of people so each tour guide carries a distinctive flag or umbrella to keep their group together. Our guide uses a doll on a telescoping rod.

She found her group most disobedient when a horticultural feature caught our attention. On close inspection, we found these flowering Prunus and red chard were placed in the beds still in their pots.

Beijing is gearing up to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Much construction is underway with this view from the Temple of Heaven. Massive tree plantings are being undertaken to “green” the city and to help mediate the air pollution. A large electronic sign at the front of the National Museum counts down the days to the Olympics.

We enjoyed a special afternoon treat stopping for a Chinese tea ceremony. We sample six different varieties of tea and learned about the traditional medicinal uses of each plant. We dined at one of the city’s famous restaurants specializing in Beijing (aka Peking) roast duck since 1864.