Chinanews, Beijing, October 12 - Qinling Mountain National Botanic Garden will be the biggest and the best equipped of its kind after completion in 2008.

 

The new national botanic garden will be based on the current Qinling Botanic Garden, which is known for its most complicated climate diversity and geographic features in China. More than 40 km long from north to south, and located from 460 meters to 3,000 meters above sea level, Qinling Botanic Garden plays an irreplaceable role in scientific research and species preservation.

 

When the national botanic garden is completed, it will cover 458 sq km, and become even more important in Shaannxi, as it will combine tourism, research, environmental protection and economic development.

 

Qinling Mountain is located between the Yangtze and Yellow river basins, and it is the boundary between temperate and subtropical zones in China. Special location makes it a place of bio diversity, and one of the most important nature reserves in the country. Statistics show that there are here more than 600 kinds of vertebrates, 3,446 kinds of seed plants and more than 5,000 kinds of insects, including the mascot of the mountain, the giant panda, not to mention many other endangered species like the golden monkey.