With its evergreen mountains and breath-taking scenery, Xishuangbanna, located in the south of China's Yunnan Province, is often referred to as the Kingdom of Plants or A Green Gem in the Imperial Botanical Crown. The region is blessed with marvellous virgin forests, tropical rain forests, abundant flora and fauna as well as ancient and charming minority cultures. This wonderland enjoys an international fame for its rich, brilliant and diverse scenic beauty, attracting scholars and tourists from both at home and abroad.Xishuangbanna lies south of the Tropic of Cancer, and is traversed by the Lancang River water system. Owing to its topography, Xishuangbanna has both maritime and continental climatic features, and is extremely rich in both thermal and hydrological resources. The advantageous natural conditions have given the area a great variety of forest vegetation, plants and wildlife.Here ancient tropical plants which have been bypassed by the evolutionary process may be seen flourishing. Plants of different geological ages and species blend to form wonderful plant communities peculiar to Xishuangbanna.