Introduction—Shenzhen Fairy Lake Botanical Garden

Greening in the city

Shenzhen is a city located in the coastal area of southern China. Surrounded by neighboring mountains and the sea, Shenzhen has a subtropical maritime climate, meaning it rains often and the temperature is pleasant most of the time. It is a city with complex topography and mountainous terrain. Shenzhen is an ecological garden city, green space and flowers are ubiquitous around the city. Shenzhen is a world-renowned innovative city, leading in hi-tech industry, design and other technological fields.
Fairy Lake Botanical Garden is located in the beautiful city of Shenzhen. It is situated in northwestern foothills of Mount Wutongshan (944 m a.s.l.), the highest peak of Shenzhen, and west of the Shenzhen Reservoir. Towering above the Garden and the city, the top of Wutongshan is always wreathed in cloud and green vegetation, while the reservoir is expansive and misty at times. It has been compared to a paradise, as one local folklorist has said, Phoenix rests on the Wutong[ Actually Castanopsis fissa.], fairies dance on the lake. At the beginning of planning, it took Prof. Sun Xiaoxiang sometime to decide the name and location of the Garden. He was the chief planning designer of the Garden, a renowned garden and landscape expert, and professor at Beijing Forestry College (now Beijing Forestry University). Prof. Sun led a team that included Prof. Yang Laili and other members of Shenzhen Design Group of Beijing Forestry College; they were guided by local colleagues. They traveled around for seeking an ideal locality for the Garden. At last, Prof Sun found that Dakengtang, Liantang at the base of Mount Wutongshan was the perfect place for the new botanical garden. He submitted this proposal for the site of the Garden, and it was approved by Shenzhen Municipal Government. Subsequently, Prof. Sun completed the site planning. In light of the perfect combination of hills and lake, a view of mountains surrounding a pool of emerald in the center, Prof. Sun named the Garden as Fairy Lake.

SZBG covers an area of 668 hectares. The topography is diverse, and the venue has a good combination of hills, forests and water. During the early stages of planning, Prof. Meng Zhaozhen (presently academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering), who was the chief designer of the Garden, decided to construct the Fairy Lake as the center of whole garden, which followed the concepts of “choosing suitable location” and “construct the appropriate garden” from the monumental work of ancient Chinese landscape theory Yuan Ye (The Craft of Gardens) published by Ji Cheng in the Ming Dynasty (1631). Meanwhile, the Garden layouts were mainly based on classic Chinese garden styles. Pavilions, platforms, and pagodas were set up either close to water or on hill tops with good views. Buildings followed the traditional styles of northern China, straight and stable, graceful, with white walls and glazed tiles. At carefully selected viewpoints, tourists can view Fairy Lake, towering mountains, the Shenzhen Reservoir and even can see as far as the city center. A series of themed gardens were planted on the flat ground or in valleys around the lake. The scenic spots and themed gardens are all linked through the road and trail system. With all the above landscape designs, SZBG has achieved the original goal of having great scenery set in a scientific context.

Mr. Liang Xiang(right) and Prof. Yang Laili (left) discussed the layout planning

Though SZBG has not had a long history, but the Garden has proved itself worthy with great scenery, sophisticated infrastructure, rich collections of living plants, diverse natural education, and experienced staff. Visitor numbers have reached over 4 million per year in recent years (due to the impact of Covid-19, the number of tourists decreased greatly in 2020). We conserve living plants of nearly 12,000 species (including cultivars), and the Garden is one of the important plant conservation sites in southern China and nationwide. We have achieved much scientific research using the collections, especially on taxa of cycads, magnolias, bryophytes, ferns, gesneriads and begonias. We also have made significant progress in the fields of vertical greening and urban ecology. A variety of educational courses and events meet the needs of children and the wider general public.

In 1983, Prof. Sun Xiaoxiang(right) accompanied city mayor.

Mr. Liang Xiang(second from right) to examine the site selection of the Garden

In the spring of 1992, the late Chinese leader Mr. Deng Xiaoping visited the Garden and planted a council tree (Ficus altissima) on the lawn of the Lakeshore, and now it has become a big tree and is a must-see scenic spot. The Garden has also received many of the former leaders of our country, such as Mr. Jiang Zemin, Mr. Hu Jintao, Mr. Yang Shangkun, and also some famous world-renowned botanists, such as Prof. Wu Zhengyi, Prof. Siu Ying Hu, and Prof. Peter Raven. The Garden has become a destination of choice for those who want to recognize the achievement of China's reform and opening up policy and also the achievements of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.

The Hongfa Temple is located in the east of Fairy Lake, halfway up Mount Wutongshan, is the most important local Buddhist holy place. During Buddhist holidays, this is an important destination for people who practice the Buddhist faith, and/or want to gain a peaceful mind via self-cultivation.