Published : 02/09/2022
Have you ever seen a century-old tree growing atop an ancient tower?
This "tower tree" sits on a Qing Dynasty pagoda in Chating Town, Changsha, Hunan, and is seen as a wonder where nature and culture meet. So how did it come to be? The truth behind it may surprise you.
A 7-metre tree in a 12-metre tower?
In Jiufengshan Village, Chating Town, Hunan, stands a "Xizi Tower" (Pagoda for Cherishing Written Characters).
Built during the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty, it has a history of over 180 years. The pagoda, constructed from granite, has five stories. Perched atop the 12-metre-tall structure is a 7-metre-high celtis tree.
Its crown spreads like a giant umbrella, enveloping the entire pagoda in its shade, making it a renowned local wonder.
In the past, the Xizi Tower was said to be a place for burning books and papers with writing on them, a practice rooted in the traditional Chinese virtue of "cherishing written characters."
So how did such an ancient tree come to grow on top of this pagoda?
Did this wonder originate from a lightning strike?
According to folklore, it is related to "a bolt of lightning".
Legend has it that around the year 1900, the Cherishing Writing Pagoda was struck by lightning, which damaged the top of the pagoda and turned it into a platform, where birds would often come to rest.
The droppings left by the birds contained plant seeds, among which was a hackberry seed which took root and sprouted on the top of the pagoda.
As the walls of the Cherishing Writing Pagoda are a double-layered structure with the gap in the middle filled with soil, the roots of the hackberry tree travelled through the soil layer between the walls, reaching all the way down into the earth, and over a hundred years, created the "pagoda-tree symbiosis" wonder.
More than 10 years ago, experts restored the ancient pagoda, specifically selecting a filling soil that would not damage the tree's roots and adding lime to it for pest control; at the same time, they trimmed the roots and modified parts of the pagoda walls to allow the ancient tree to grow better.
Nowadays, the "pagoda-tree symbiosis" wonder has become a landmark of Chating Town, attracting more and more tourists to visit, which also provides additional income for the local villagers.
Read more: Exploring 4 magical ancient twin pagodas in China