Founded in 1956, the Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences (ISAPS) – 特产研究所 is the only national institute in China dedicated to the conservation and utilization of wildlife. The institute operates across two sites:
- The Zuojia Experimental Base, located in Zuojia Town, spans 56 km², mostly covered by forest.
- The Changchun Research Center is situated in Jingyue district, Changchun city, and occupies an area of 14 ha.
The primary objective of ISAPS is to research rare and valuable plants and animals, focusing on their protection and sustainable utilization. The institute employs 331 staff, of which 226 are researchers. ISAPS consists of 9 departments specializing in the following areas:
- Special economic animals
- Medicinal plants
- Wild fruit trees
- Special animal and plant economy
- Quality supervision and testing
- Economic animal preventive veterinary medicine
- Veterinary drug research and development
- Product processing
- Special economic animal molecular biology
ISAPS has established international collaborations with scientific research institutions in countries including New Zealand, South Korea, the USA, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Singapore, Australia, Russia, and North Korea. The institute has also trained nearly 200,000 farmers in special animal feeding technologies and economic plant cultivation techniques.
More information (in Chinese): https://tcs.caas.cn/index.htm.
