Xu Zhihong analyzes the condition of some of the plants growing in the laboratory.
“Nature is the best teacher,” said Xu Zhihong, a distinguished Chinese plant physiologist. Having worked in this field for several decades, he still has an immense curiosity and passion for the world of flora. Whenever he sees a plant he is unfamiliar with, he cannot resist walking up to it, observing its leaves and blossoms, and attentively smelling its fragrance. “Choosing the path to explore the laws of nature was the best decision I have ever made in my life,” said Xu.
Xu has held numerous senior leadership roles in his career, such as director of the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and vice president of the CAS. He was elected an academician of the CAS at 55, and at 57, he became president of Peking University — also his alma mater — where he integrated the “growth principle” drawn from plant science into university governance, advancing the institution’s academic “evolution.”
Now in his 80s, Xu, together with Academician Gu Binglin, former president of Tsinghua University, and Academician Rao Zihe, former president of Nankai University, has co-initiated the Tengchong Scientists Forum. With undiminished enthusiasm, he has devoted himself anew to biodiversity conservation and the development of modern agriculture in southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
To the Utmost
Xu’s scientific journey began in childhood with a deep curiosity about the natural world which was also his earliest classroom. Amid the mountains and rivers of his hometown of Wuxi City in east China’s Jiangsu Province, he spent his days playing in the hills, observing flowers and catching insects and fish.
During secondary school, Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species planted in him the seed of exploring life’s mysteries. Determined to pursue this calling, he filled all his college applications with majors in biology, agriculture, and forestry, and ultimately entered the College of Biology at Peking University.
In 1965, he was enrolled in a postgraduate program of the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology under the CAS, with Professor Luo Shiwei as his mentor. After graduation, he served successively as a research group leader and member of the laboratory leadership team, deputy director, and director of the institution.
Following a scholarship program in the United Kingdom in 1981, he began to devote himself to the field of plant biotechnology and molecular biology. He helped establish the National Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics in China and held the position of the director of the laboratory for eight years. Through years of development, the institution grew into a major force in basic plant science research in China, and has made significant contributions to the advancement of both plant science and agricultural science nationwide.
Xu’s research interests include plant cell culture, tissue culture, and plant developmental biology. He has published more than 240 papers, reviews, and monographs on topics, such as the mechanisms of plant hormone action, regulation of plant morphogenesis, the molecular basis of vernalization, seed development, and plant tissue culture and genetic manipulation. Due to his outstanding work and strong influence among international peers, he served as president of the International Association for Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology, today’s International Association for Plant Biotechnology, from 2002 to 2006.
His academic journey helped lay a major foundation for the development of plant bioengineering in China, and he himself has borne witness to the transformative changes that have taken place in China’s agricultural sector.
Xu often tells younger generations, “Success is about doing what you love to the utmost.” He himself has been a lifelong practitioner of this belief, spending countless days and nights reading and writing at his desk, working in the laboratory, and conducting field investigations. Even in his 80s, he still treks through mountains alongside young scholars. Through his actions, he demonstrates that the saying of “learning from nature” is not just a scientific method, but also a philosophy of life.
Evolution not Revolution
Xu has not only focused on pursuing academic excellence, but also devoted tremendous effort to nurturing young people.
Xue Hongwei, president of South China Agricultural University and a doctoral supervisor, still vividly recalls receiving a letter from Xu in the early 90s when Xue was at the onset of his graduate program and Xu was his supervisor. Xu was abroad on an academic visit at the time, yet he took the trouble to remind his student, “In addition to understanding plant tissue culture, you should also gain a broad understanding of genetics, developmental biology, biochemistry, and related fields. These efforts will help build a solid foundation for your future work.”
Xu later applied the “growth logic” originating in botany to university governance. In 1999, he returned to his alma mater and became president of Peking University. There, he proposed that university reform should be “evolution-based,” not “revolution-based.” In his view, education is like cultivating a tree — its growth must follow natural laws.
Xu recalled that the purpose of the reform was never to force teachers out, but to create conditions that would better stimulate everyone’s initiative, encourage them to work with greater motivation, and ultimately promote healthy personnel mobility. This would make it possible to attract outstanding young scholars and build a well-structured, dynamic faculty at Peking University. Through this reform, the university has resolved the faculty aging problem by supplementing it with younger teachers.
Drawing inspiration from biological diversity, he emphasized diversity in talent development, leading to a series of educational adjustments at Peking University, such as classifying graduate students into academic and professional tracks and thus adopting different training objectives, course structures, competency-building programs, thesis requirements, and supervisory teams.
He also promoted the idea of the “well-rounded university student” and initiatives, such as the Hundred Talents Plan and the Yuanpei College. He emphasized the equal importance of fundamental and general education as well as the key role of interdisciplinary learning. Xu stressed that students should know not only how to achieve academic excellence, but also how to be a good person and how to serve society. He encouraged students “to question existing knowledge, challenge established academic systems, and carve out new paths in the exploration of knowledge — an ability essential for the younger generation to meet future challenges.”
Beyond comprehensive institutional reform, many heartwarming stories about Xu Zhihong continue to circulate. For example, he oversaw the compilation of The Plants of Yanyuan, documenting 185 plant species on campus — an initiative that later inspired universities across China to publish their own books about campus floras, sparking a nationwide “campus botany fever.”
Xu Zhihong (back row, first from the right) and his mentor Professor Luo Shiwei (front row, fourth from the left), together with colleagues and postgraduate students from the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology under the CAS.
Small Seeds, Great Potential
Enormously inspired by nature, Xu holds the conviction that every seed holds the power to change the world. He has been active in the “ecosystems” of scientific research, education, and international cooperation, where each “seed” he sows represents a hope and a possibility.
At the age of 76, he returned to research and a teaching post as dean of the College of Modern Agriculture Science at Peking University. He also chairs the Chinese National Committee for UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program, devoted to building natural reserves, promoting biodiversity conservation, and advancing ecological civilization. Meanwhile, he has been committed to public education of modern agriculture, biological engineering, and genetically modified technologies, and also urged other scientists to conduct greater outreach, guiding the public toward a rational understanding of cutting-edge science.
In 2020, during a research trip to Yunnan with Gu Binglin and Rao Zihe, he was captivated by Yunnan’s rich biological resources. Peking University has a historical bond with Yunnan. During the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945), Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Nankai University were forced to move to Yunnan and formed the National Southwest Associated University. Reflecting on that special time period, Xu said it was a miracle in the history of Chinese higher education.
Together, the three former university presidents initiated the Tengchong Scientists Forum. Xu serves as its co-chair, and he initiated the forum’s signature sub-forum, the Biodiversity and Green Development Forum. Xu hopes to take this opportunity to deepen cooperation between China and South Asian and Southeast Asian countries in biodiversity conservation, green agriculture, and sustainable development.
In multiple speeches at the forum, he has emphasized that Yunnan’s rich biodiversity resources must be protected and rationally utilized in a coordinated manner. He said that biodiversity research should be integrated into the broader national development strategy. He believes that, while ensuring biodiversity conservation, it is important to explore how to make comprehensive, responsible use of natural resources to better meet the people’s expectations for a better life.
Over the years, he has been paying close attention to practical issues, such as the development of the traditional Chinese medicine industry, the improvement of coffee quality, and the breeding of tropical crops. He has worked to accelerate the application of scientific achievements by encouraging dialogue between scientists and entrepreneurs so as to support regional economic growth.
In 2025 alone, at the age of 83, he participated in several forums centering on biodiversity, medicinal herb cultivation, and modern agriculture held in Yunnan under the Tengchong Scientists Forum. Between sessions, he personally visited local coffee plantations, herb cultivation bases, and flower-growing sites, and offered guidance and advice to local leaders and workers.
“China is a large agricultural country, but to move from being a large agricultural country to an agricultural powerhouse, we must stick to the path of scientific and technological innovation,” Xu said. He hopes that high-level forums like the Tengchong Scientists Forum could enable scientists to fully exchange insights on the most cutting-edge scientific advances in China and around the world, and foster deeper communication and collaboration between scientists and entrepreneurs. 
HUANG WEI is assistant to the chairman of the Board of the Tengchong Scientists Forum Center;
Chen Wenxin is head of communications of the Tengchong Scientists Forum.
