As the frost falls, the temperature has become lower and lower. When the cold wind howls into the normal state, the annual red leaf viewing period in the north has come again. At this time of year, a variety of viewing strategies are released, and people are flocking to them. If you are not careful, watching red leaves will become watching people’s heads. Although the red leaves covered with mountains and forests are extremely hot, the ginkgo biloba with golden light and ancient charm is also a good choice for appreciating leaves in late autumn.
Ginkgo is a famous ancient tree in China and one of the oldest tree species in the world. It has a history of more than 270 million years and is known as “living fossil”. Its life cycle is long and its growth is slow. The female tree often needs 20 or 30 years to grow before it begins to bear seeds, which will lead to the phenomenon that the predecessors planted it and the future generations enjoy it. Therefore, in some places in China, ginkgo biloba is also referred to as the Gongsun tree, which means “the public plants and the grandchildren get food”.
According to the data, about 140000 years ago, the ginkgo trees in China were only visible in a small number of areas in the east, southwest and south, and they were also hidden in “deep mountains and old forests”.
After that, until the wild ginkgo trees were discovered, they began to gradually enter the human world, and then after the passage of time, they began to have ginkgo trees all over the street. In cities, it is often used as a street tree. In addition to its beauty, it is also resistant to pollution, cold and drought.
Because of this, there are basically two kinds of ginkgo yellow leaves to watch. One is the rare but ancient ginkgo tree; The other is the plantation of ginkgo biloba with a good scale. The former one is more amazing. Most of them are in the ancient temples in the mountains. The old ginkgo trees and historical relics set off each other. The scenery is spectacular and shocking.
Hongluo Temple, male and female
There is a saying in Beijing that Dajue Temple is not as good as Longquan Temple, Longquan Temple is not as good as Dabei Temple, and Dabei Temple is not as good as Hongluo Temple. Therefore, the ceiling for viewing ginkgo trees in Beijing is the Hongluo Temple in the north of Huairou City.
Here, two ancient ginkgo trees, one female and one male, grow in front of the Mahavira Hall. The female trees in the east are beautiful and short, while the male trees in the west are tall and strong. The male tree is more than 1100 years old, more than 30 meters high, and the whole tree is as thick as 7 meters. Male trees have survived for thousands of years, but their vitality has not diminished. Every spring, they will be full of pale yellow flowers, and there will be no fruit in autumn. However, the female trees will be full of fruit in autumn without flowers in spring. People think they are like a pair of perfect couples, so they are also called husband and wife trees.
There is a saying that “a single tree cannot make a forest”, but the male ginkgo tree in Hongluo Temple has the tendency of “a single tree makes a forest”, because it grows ten straight branches from the root, and there is a very magical legend about these ten branches. According to the local people, every time the dynasty changes, this male ginkgo tree grows a new branch from the root, now it is ten branches and one trunk.
In late autumn, two trees set off the the Shakya ManiHall with golden ginkgo leaves, making it one of the three wonders of Hongluo Temple.
However, the ginkgo season in Beijing only lasts about three weeks from late October to early November. If you miss it, you can only wait another year.
Guanyin Temple Ginkgo planted by Li Shimin
As the ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties, Xi’an has a history everywhere, including buildings and even trees.
In the ancient Guanyin Temple at the foot of the Zhongnan Mountain in Xi’an, there stands an ancient ginkgo tree with a history of more than 1400 years and the same age as the temple. Every year in late autumn, thousands of tourists will come to see its beautiful “posture”.
Ancient ginkgo trees in the same year as the temple
In the far view, the ancient trees of the Guanyin Temple are towering, among which the particularly dazzling millennium ginkgo tree is inlaid with countless strings of golden firecrackers. The whole body is golden, and the branches are luxuriant. The falling leaves dye the whole courtyard golden, which is in sharp contrast with the solid ancient temple. The scene is extremely spectacular.
It is said that this thousand-year-old ginkgo tree was planted by Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. It is quite royal.
As for how this ancient ginkgo tree has maintained such a healthy state for thousands of years, there are also magical reasons. It is said that there is a Goddess of Mercy spring under the tree. Whether it is cloudy, sunny, dry or waterlogged, the spring water is always at the same level, neither rising nor falling, and it does not rest all year round. It is said that one drink can cure all diseases. It has been very famous since ancient times. Many people have traveled thousands of miles to get water here. More coincidentally, this ancient ginkgo tree is just above the Guanyin Divine Spring. The spring water is soaked in the root, and the tree body nourishes the spring. The two complement each other, making the ginkgo tree stand for thousands of years, still luxuriant and full of vitality, and become the most dazzling autumn scenery in Xi’an.
The ancestor of ginkgo in Tianmu Mountain
According to expert investigation, ginkgo biloba was with dinosaurs 170 million years ago, and then was endangered in the fourth glacial period, and survived in Tianmu Mountain alone. Therefore, almost all ginkgo trees in the world originate from Tianmu Mountain in Lin’an, Zhejiang Province.
The Tianmu Mountain, known as the “Big Tree Covers Jiuzhou”, is the “refuge” of animals and plants in the ancient glacial period with its ancient geology, unique landform and complex terrain. Wild ginkgo is one of the species left over from the ice age. In front of the Kaishan Old Hall at an altitude of 1000 meters, a 12000 year old Ginkgo biloba, which has been said to be famous around the world, still stands like a canopy and bears many fruits. Because there are 22 old, strong, green, young and young trees in one tree, it enjoys the reputation of “five generations living together”.
“Five generations in one house” wild ginkgo tree
According to the Flora of China, as a rare species left over from the Mesozoic era, only the wild ginkgo biloba in Tianmu Mountain is born in the natural forest at an altitude of 500-1000 meters and with good drainage. It is often mixed with the coniferous and broad-leaved trees such as Cryptomeria, Torreya grandis and Blueberry, and grows vigorously.
At the end of October every year, the autumn scenery of Tianmu Mountain begins to have a special charm.
Ginkgo biloba floats with golden leaves, red maples hang red, giant sequoias are dense, dark cypress is green… thousands of trees compete for autumn, and all layers of forest are dyed, and the ancient wild ginkgo biloba is the soul of Tianmu Mountain. In addition to the 12000 year old ginkgo trees, there are thousands of years old ginkgo trees growing in the scenic spots such as the old temple of Mount Kaishan in Tianmu. Every autumn, the mountain people will carry incense bags to walk up the mountain to pray to the ancient trees and make wishes. Over time, it has become a tradition of local people’s devout blessing.
Countless Ginkgo Avenue
In China, there are countless artificially planted ginkgo boulevards, which will soon become eye-catching autumn scenery with the chill of the autumn wind.
In Dandong, ginkgo biloba is the city tree of the city, which has been deeply integrated into the context of the city. There are 40 ginkgo boulevards and more than 700 ginkgo trees over 100 years old. There are only six streets with century-old ginkgo trees in Asian cities, and Dandong accounts for half of them. Jiuwei Road, Qijing Street and Liuwei Road have become the business cards of Dandong.
In Nanjing, each of the six ginkgo avenues is good at winning, and it is hard to distinguish between them: from Xiaoling of the Ming Dynasty to Xuanwu Lake, from Nanjing University to Linggu Temple, from Liangshan Ginkgo Valley to Binjiang Park, every place is covered with gold and full of autumn charm, which makes people forget to leave.
In Jiangdu Fairy Town, Yangzhou, there is also a different Ginkgo Avenue. The two rows of ginkgo trees here are funnel-shaped, with the same height and thickness, about 10 meters high. Because most of them are grafted, so there are more lateral branches, which means more ginkgo leaves. The ginkgo biloba on both sides open their arms to each other, laying a brilliant golden avenue.
Moreover, the scale of Ginkgo Avenue is still expanding year by year.
It can be said that Ginkgo biloba, once listed as “rare and endangered plant”, is still firmly growing in all corners of China, although it is mainly parthenogenetic. It is a miracle. However, ginkgo biloba still belongs to the “threatened species”. Therefore, while appreciating and admiring the beauty of the yellow leaves of ginkgo biloba, we should also take more care of this great plant that has survived since the age of dinosaurs.