Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) cultivates and conserves more than 10,000 rare and endangered plant species from around the world. To celebrate the “International Biodiversity Day” on May 22, a special guided tour of some of these threatened tropical plants is presented.

Prof. Dr. Chen Jin, director of XTBG, said in his opening remarks that “On this special day, XTBG is glad to showcase the beautiful landscape of the Garden and our efforts to combat the loss of biodiversity.” He appealed to the public to beware of biodiversity conservation.

Many experts including the director, professors and associate professors get involved in the event.

Dr. Chen Jin personally is a tour guide for the first tourist group to the Garden today. While showing the tourists around the Garden, he focused on the interactions between plants and animals, especially seed dispersals and frugivorous animals.

Serving as tour guides, the experts show the visitors some rare and wonderful tropical plants, for example, the “color-changing flower” whose colors change three times daily, the “dancing herb” whose leaves rotate gently, and the “mysterious fruit” which reverses tastes, turning sour to sweet. They also tell stories of the work being undertaken by XTBG to safeguard biodiversity around the globe.

The theme forthe International Day on Biological Diversity (IDB) in 2009 is invasive alien species (IAS) - one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, and to the ecological and economic well-being of society and the planet.