Chinese herbal medicine has successfully rejuvenated nearly 200 dying and worm-eaten trees. The special treatment was developed by Li Jinling, a senior horticulturist with the Beijing Gardening Bureau.
He recently revived a 600-year-old "sick" white pine by irrigating it with a diluted, wild herbal mixture. Now, even in the bitter winter wind that is blowing through the Chinese capital, the tree appears to be strong.
The tree, located on the campus of the Beijing Institute of Technology, nearly died from an infestation of pests three years ago, and started to rot at its roots. Various means of rescuing the tree were tried but nothing worked until the herbal mixture was applied.
"Like an elderly patient, the tree is too old to withstand strong chemicals because it would result in fast cell division, which accelerates the consumption of the tree's own nutrients," Li said. "But the herbal mixture would help increase the absorbed nutrients by improving the plant's metabolism and photosynthesis."
"If the tree dies, the history of Haidian District would be incomplete," said Zhang Pingrang, a teacher with the Beijing Institute of Technology, who has lived on the campus for more than 20 years.
The district, crowded with universities built over the past 50 years is nurturing China's "Silicon Valley:" Zhongguancun. Among the increasing number of modern buildings, only the old tree stands as proof of the area's long history, Zhang said.
Beijing has the oldest trees of any city in China, with 10,000 trees over 100 years old still thriving.
With the rapid development of China's urban construction, the growing environment of the old trees is getting worse.
Zhou Lijun, a deputy director of the National Greening Commission (NGC) in charge of the preservation of ancient trees, said saving these trees benefits China's history and culture, as well as the ecological environment.
Many provinces and regions have promulgated regulations on tree protection, and horticulturists all over the country are making identity plates that will be attached to the trees. Meanwhile, pertinent information on the trees is being archived on a database.
A gingko tree in Taihua Temple in Xishan Hill of Kunming, Southwest of China's Yunnan Province, is said to have been planted by Zhu Yun, an emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Such stories about the old trees are being collected and recorded on databases.
NGC statistics show there are about 300,000, 100-year-old trees scattered in cities throughout China.
(China Daily December 20, 2001)
