The State Council approved a new South China botanical garden in an official reply released on June 6.

The garden will be jointly built by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences and the governments of Guangdong province and Guangzhou city, it said.

The botanical garden should be built with a focus on ex-situ conservation, or off-site conservation, of the plants in South China, while showcasing Chinese characteristics and benefiting public welfare. The garden will include multiple functions, with enhanced focus on systematic collection, complete preservation, high-quality research and sustainable utilization of plant groups.

At the same time, knowledge of tropical and subtropical plants and the garden culture of Lingnan area should be integrated and showcased to better spread popular science, tell Chinese botanicals stories and manifest the glamour of Chinese culture and biodiversity.

The circular also urged fully leveraging current investment channels, improving a diversified investment mechanism, and strengthening construction of key functional areas, facilities for botanicals collections, research and scientific platforms, and supporting infrastructure.