Tourists are photographed in Arding Botanical Garden. [Photo/Baotou Evening News]

Located in Baotou, in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the Arding Botanical Garden covers an area of 90.4 hectares.

Arding in the Mongolian language means people, indicating the park is opened to the public free of charge. 

A serene scene is framed by an arched window at the bonsai exhibition area. It also showcases an element of Hui style architecture in China. [Photo/Baotou Daily]

The Arding Botanical Garden is known as the green urban lungs of Baotou. The landscape in the park is unique, with a wide variety of plants and lush vegetation.

The planned overall layout includes a science popularization tourist area, a scientific research and experimental area, an artificial lake area, a production greenhouse and a flower garden showcasing 53 families and 450 varieties of plants. 

A pond full of lotus blossoms delights visitors. A huge number of lotus flowers bloom in the city every year, attracting many admirers. [Photo/Baotou Evening News]

At present, Arding Botanical Garden contains more than 300,000 trees and more than 60,000 shrubs and covers 105,000 square meters of lawn.

In 2019, an exhibition area highlighting dwarf bonsai trees was created, covering an area of 6,000 sq m. A total of 100 bonsai trees from 13 varieties are currently established in the area which, mostly being cold and drought resistant, can grow in North China.

Address: No 3 Qingnian Road, Hondlon district, Baotou, Inner Mongolia autonomous region

Traffic guide: Take bus No 11 or 33 and get off at the Arden Botanical Garden stop.

Opening hours: all day

Admission fee: free

Best seasons to visit: July to November

Recommended time for a visit: one to three hours