Five contemporary Chinese science and engineering projects

Southwest China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species

The Southwest China Germplasm Bank of Wild Species, which is under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Yunnan province, is a research and preservation institution for rare and endangered plants. One of the critically endangered species it protects, the pinus squamata, or Qiaojia pine, only has 29 trees left growing in China.

Founded in 2008 and subsequently dubbed "Noah's Ark," the center holds 67,800 sets of seeds for 9,129 plant species from 45 countries and regions. By 2020, it aims to expand its collection to 100,000 sets of seeds from 10,000 species.The center currently stores seeds from one third of China's wild plants. The center cooperates with 85 research institutes and preservation centers across China.