A medicinal garden, the biggest one in Beijing, is under construction in the Beijing Biotechnology and Medical Industrial Base in the south of the city. Many medicinal plants are to be planted in the garden. The base is endeavoring to attract investment from pharmaceutical enterprises at home and aboard.

The garden under construction is estimated to cost a total of 80 million yuan (US$9.7 million).

The garden located in Daxing County, south Beijing, has over 2,000 workers currently working hard in spite of the SARS epidemic. About 30 species of medicinal plants such as Chinese parasol, ginkgo, eucommia, arborvitae, Chinese wolfberry, Chinese herbaceous peony, Chinese rose, rose, honeysuckle, and capsule of weeping forsythia have been planted and constitute the majority of the landscaped vegetation areas. Plants waving in the breeze send a sweet fragrance through the air.

The Beijing Biotechnology and Medical Industrial Base is one of four major industrial bases in the city which were given top priority by government to promote Beijing's manufacturing industry. Specialists were invited to design for the industrial base. The design follows a central theme of blending traditional Chinese medicinal science with modern garden construction rules while selecting representative medicinal arbors, shrubs and flowering trees for overall greenery effect reflecting biotechnology and medical industry in a street landscape.

Medical trees will be planted along roads with each road having its own characteristics. They include Gutta-percha trees which can strengthen bones and nourish the liver and kidneys, Chinese parasol trees which can reduce high blood pressure and remove rheumatism, ginkgo trees which can reduce phlegm and stop coughing, haw trees which can help digestion and reduce high blood pressure, and Chinese flowering quinces which can take rheumatism out of the bones. Lilac and other medical trees will also be planted along the streets. For example, there will be ginkgo trees street stretching 7.4 kilometers from east to west and a plane tree avenue stretching 4.3 kilometers from north to south, according to the designing scheme.

The landscape construction also blends medicinal shrubs, vegetation and flowers on the base. For instance, honeysuckle, which can relieve fever, capsules of weeping forsythia which are honored as "superb medicine for skin ulcers," Chinese herbaceous peonies which have the effectiveness of nourishing the blood, regulating menstrual function, and restraining irascibility, and chrysanthemums which can calm the liver to improve eyesight constitute varieties for the gardening landscape.

The Beijing Biotechnology and Medical Industrial Base which is to be the biggest medicinal garden in Beijing upon its completion, is now applying for the title of the industrial park with gardening characteristics. A fund of 30 million yuan (US$3.6 million) has been invested in its construction this year, and the total investment will reach 80 million yuan (US$9.7 million).

While building the medicinal garden, the base has attracted investment from home and aboard via such methods as on-line business. Leading officials from some domestic renowned pharmaceutical enterprises such as China National Pharmaceutical Industry Corp., Anhui Jimin Medicine Tech. Co., Ltd and 999 Enterprise Group have shown their interest in building workshops there after visiting the base. The Beijing Saisheng Medicine Corp. has signed an agreement for workshop building.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting, June 2, 2003)