It’s a jungle in there

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Inventor Lü Kejian shows off his tree-shaped home irrigation system. Photo: Li Hao/GT

Lü Kejian has spent two decades building a forest inside his apartment, nestled among Beijing's skyscrapers. He believes mankind is descended from apes and shares with them a deep attachment to trees. Lush vegetation dominates his living room. The room, located on the 12th floor of a building near the Southwest Second Ring Road that has a sweeping view of the mountains to the west, is filled with six "man-made" trees. The trunks are hand built using paulownia wood. Flowerpots overflowing with money plant leaves sit atop the "branches" radiating out of the trunks.

While urbanites in Beijing have long planted indoor gardens for their beauty and calming effects, in recent years increasingly severe concerns over air pollution and food safety have led many to grow plants to protect their health.

"There has been a worldwide consensus that a large number of interior plants can make life healthier," said Lü, 75, an energetic retired aerospace engineer, and one of the country's urban garden lovers. "The difficulties, however, lay in the question of how exactly to green your living room."

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