County in SW China's Sichuan devotes efforts to protect ancient trees

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 11 shows the Jianmen Pass scenic spot in Jian'ge county, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Sichuan Daily/Hao Fei)

Home to a large number of thousand-year-old trees, Jian'ge county, Guangyuan city of southwest China's Sichuan Province has adopted some innovative methods to protect these trees while improving tourists' experiences.

The Cuiyunlang section of an ancient road system called Shudao is a man-made pathway that harbors the oldest and the most abundant collection of ancient trees covering the largest area in the world. The ancient cypress trees planted along the pathway fill the air with a fresh scent. Some of the trees stand tall and straight, with their tops seeming to touch the sky, while others grow in a more curved or twisted manner, but still exude a sense of power.

Inside the Cuiyunlang scenic area, a large screen displays real-time information including pest infestations, soil pH, and other relevant information about the ancient trees.

According to Pu Yuanbin, a tour guide in the scenic area, Jian'ge county built an intelligent management platform for ancient cypress trees this year. The multi-functional platform can monitor forest fires, pests, the ecological environment, meteorological data, provide early warning of natural disasters and support daily maintenance management, making the protection efforts more scientific.

"In addition, Jian'ge county has tailored specific protection measures for each ancient tree based on its own conditions," Pu said.

A common phrase in Jian'ge county, "protecting ancient cedars just like they protect pandas", demonstrates just how committed the county is to the protection of the trees.

Jian'ge county is also doing its best to leverage the ancient trees to build up the areas tourism sector.

Xu Chengjie, deputy director of the cultural tourism and health industry development center of Jian'ge, explained that the county added markings and signs, restrooms, and other supporting facilities in certain sections of Shudao to improve services for hikers.

In the first eight months of this year, the Cuiyunlang scenic area received a total of 1.89 million tourist visits, a 5-percent increase year on year.

On Sept. 11, a traditional Chinese performance depicting cypress protection in China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) was staged among the cypress trees in Jian'ge. In this performance, a departing governor and his successor, both dressed up in official attire from the Ming Dynasty, went on an inspection tour, counting the cypress trees and making clear management guidelines.

"This immersive performance enables the tourists to experience firsthand how ancient people protected the cypress trees. The impressive scene of ancient trees we see today is credited to generations of conservation efforts," said a tourist surnamed Zhang.

"Through this play, a balance is struck between ecological protection and tourism development," said Xu. He explained that since last year, the number of visitors to the Cuiyunlang scenic area has increased dramatically, with study tour groups from Sichuan and neighboring Chongqing Municipality, Shaanxi Province in particular. To pass on the wisdom of the ancient people to the younger generations today, the county came up with this innovative approach to combine ecological protection and tourism.