Li Xi (third from left), a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Party secretary of Guangdong province, visits the South China National Botanical Garden after attending the garden's inaugural ceremony on Monday. [Photo by Zheng Caixiong/For chinadaily.com.cn]

The new garden is an expansion of the former South China Botanical Garden, located in the eastern suburbs of Guangzhou.

As the largest subtropical botanical garden in China, the garden now has a conservation exhibition area of 283 hectares. It is home to more than 30 special gardens, including magnolia, palm, ginger and orchid gardens, and about 17,000 plants being conserved away from their natural habitats.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by Li Xi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Party secretary of Guangdong province, Hou Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wang Weizhong, governor of Guangdong province, and Guo Yonghang, mayor of Guangzhou.