Pinus caribaea var. caribaea from Cuba was introduced to southern China in 1961 with P. caribaea var. hondurensis from Guatemala and P. caribaea var. bahamensis following in 1973. However, it was not until 1983 that combined variety/provenance tests were established on several sites with a range of provenances. It was reported that significant differences existed in quantitative genetic traits such as growth rate among the three varieties and P. elliottii which was used as a control. During the period from 1973-1978, 12 seed orchards or seed production areas of P. caribaea var. caribaea were established in Guangdong and Guangxi covering a total area of about 70ha. All trees were grafted onto root stocks of P. elliottii or P. massoniana. Seed production was very low varying between 8-50kg/ha on an annual basis. A combined provenance/progeny trial and gene bank of P. caribaea var. bahamensis was established in Guangxi in 1990 using seed provided by Oxford Forestry Institute with 14 provenances and 121 open-pollinated families representing the whole range of the variety. A breeding seedling orchard of P. caribaea var. caribaea was established in early 1995 in Guangdong Province using a multiple population breeding strategy. The main population consists of 220 families representing the natural stands and a selected population of a seed orchard in Cuba and land races developed in Brazil and China. It will be managed as a breeding seed orchard for genetic testing, selecting and seed production. There are six sub-populations subdivided by seed origins with open pollinated families varying from 16 to 75 in each. The total area of plantations of this species in China is now estimated to be over 40 000ha. It is foreseen that Pinus caribaea could become even more important in plantation forestry in southern China and the area of this species could be expected to reach 100-150 000ha by the year 2010.