During October 23-26, Dr. Thomas Sam Elias, director of the United States National Arboretum (USNA) paid a visit to XTBG, at the invitation of CAS President Lu Yongxiang.

 XTBG deputy director Li Hongwei met and held talks with the visiting guests. After briefing the scientific research, germplasm conservation, garden construction, scientific popularization and future development plan, Mr. Li exchanged ideas on possible cooperation between the two sides with Dr. Elias.

During his stay in XTBG, Dr. Elias delivered a lecture entitled “The U.S. National Arboretum: An overview of the research and educational programs”. The guests were also shown around the living collections, scientific facilities, and monitoring stations.

 Prof. Zhu Hua, a well-known botanist, accompanied field tours to the limestone seasonal rainforest and 20-ha forest dynamics plot.