The Gymnosperm garden, built up in 1970 in the north of Wanshi Lake, covers an area of about 2 hectares. The garden offers a subtle blend of plant landscape with garden arts, adorned by the lakes, mountains and green shadows. A pool was dug in the garden, and sculptures of cranes stand in the water, flapping their wings to fly, or foraging in the pool, with different postures and vivid images. On the pool side, there is a pavilion called Yan Nian (prolonging life).
The ovules of gymnosperms are not coated by ovary wall. No pericardia is formed, and the seeds are exposed. There are nearly 800 species of gymnosperms in the world, belonging to 71 genera, 12 families, 9 orders and 5 classes. In China, we have 236 species belonging to 41 genera, 12 families, 9 orders and 5 classes.
In the Gymnosperm garden, nearly 100 species (including varieties) of 26 genera, 11 families, 6 orders and 5 classes are introduced and cultivated, with Araucariaceae and Cycadaceae as the main species. Many world-famous garden tree species, such as Pseudolarix amabilis, Cedrus deodara, Araucaria cunninghamii, and “living fossil” Metasequoia glyptostroboides and Ginkgo biloba are collected.