The City Flower Garden, also known as Mei Hai Ling, is located in the middle of Dongping Mountain. It was initially opened in November 2005 and covers an area of about 4 hectares, planted with more than 60 species and more than 10,000 plants of Bougainvillea. This is the first Bougainvillea-themed garden in China.
Bougainvillea, also known as Bougainvillea spectabilis and Bougainvillea glabira, is sarmentous shrub of the Nyctaginaceae family originated in Brazil. In 1872, it was introduced to Taiwan Province for cultivation, and then gradually expanded to all provinces in China. Bougainvillea was identified as the city flower of Xiamen at the 23rd meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eighth People's Congress of Xiamen in 1986. The flower has beautiful colors and long flowering period, widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Among about 400 varieties of Bougainvillea registered in the world, the Botanical Garden has introduced more than 300 cultivars, and is one of the institutions with the most Bougainvillea preserved in China.