The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest zoological and botanical centres in the world, and the oldest park in Hong Kong.
Founded in 1864, its first stage was opened to the public in 1871. It occupies an area of 5.6 hectares (14 acres), in Central, on the northern slope of Victoria Peak.

The park was previously named Bing Tau Fa Yuen (「兵頭花園」). "Bing Tau" literally means "the head of the soldiers" or the "Commander-in-Chief". According to Hong Kong's Leisure and Cultural Services Department, it was nicknamed as such by the city's Cantonese community, as it was the former site of the city's Government House. Others said Bing Tau was just the phonetic transliteration of the first two syllables of the word botanical. In the old days, many lovers liked to go there on a date. During the Japanese occupation, it was renamed as Taishō Kōen (Hiragana: たいしょうこうえん, Kanji: 大正公園).

At the southern entrance to the gardens, at Upper Albert Road, is a memorial arch dedicated to the Chinese who died assisting the Allies during the two world wars. The inscription on the lintel reads: "In Memory of the Chinese who died loyal to the Allied cause in the Wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1945". The granite arch in the shape of a paifang was erected in 1928. Reference to the Second World War was added later.

A bronze statue of King George VI was erected in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of British colonial rule over Hong Kong (1841–1941).

There are more than 1,000 species of plants in the gardens,  mostly indigenous to tropical and sub-tropical regions. It includes some rare species like the dawn redwood and the local Ailanthus. Besides these, some species which can produce flowers throughout the year can also be found there, like the Hong Kong orchid tree.

Different Species are grown in the Thematic gardens in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.

Bamboo Garden
Azalea Garden
Bauhunia Garden
Palm Garden

To be continued

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