Yang Yongping is a research professor in botany and the director of the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Yongping’s primary research interests include documenting traditional plant use through ethnobotanical approaches and applying advanced technologies in phytochemistry, pharmacology, molecular biology, reproductive ecology, and evolutionary biology. He specializes in the study of useful plants, particularly medicinal species.

Focusing on the Tibetan Plateau and Southwest China, his major research projects include the collection and preservation of wild plant germplasm from extreme habitats, investigating the molecular mechanisms of plant adaptation to climate change, and exploring how Tibetan herders and livestock adapt to changing climatic conditions.