In Nankou Town, there are 59 ancient trees that are over 100 years old, which have experienced the turning wheel of seasons and the vicissitudes of life, silently telling the past and quietly bearing the history. To deeply excavate the historical and cultural connotations of ancient trees, combined with its ornamental and cultural heritage, Nankou Town, in particular, launched the ancient tree theme tour routes. Come to Nankou and visit ginkgo, Chinese scholar tree, wingceltis, Sour Jujube King (a kind of Chinese wild jujube), and other ancient trees, and feel the cultural charm brought by the magnificent ancient trees.
The Sour Jujube King in Wangzhuang Village
In the south of Wangzhuang Village, Nankou Town, there are two ancient sour jujube trees growing side by side, the trees stand upright, with luxuriant leaves, the largest one is about 16 meters high, with a trunk diameter of 90 cm, and the age of the tree is more than 400 years old, which is a first-grade ancient tree, and it is the largest existing sour jujube tree in the outskirts of Beijing, and it is regarded as the "Sour Jujube King in the Outskirts of Beijing". Another tree is 14.5 meters high, with a diameter of 70 centimeters at breast height, and it accompanies the Sour Jujube King.
The sour jujube tree belongs to the shrub family of woody plants and is widely distributed throughout the country, mostly in the northern region. Experts have shown that the sour jujube tree is a native tree of our country, and as early as the Han Dynasty, there were sour jujube trees on the Loess Plateau, which were later introduced to the Western Region and then spread to Europe and America and other regions.
After hundreds of years of wind and rain, and witnessing countless life changes, the ancient sour jujube tree is still here, still tall and straight, with abundant fruit, flourishing branches and leaves, quietly watching this land from day to day.
Ancient trees of Heping Temple in Huata Village
In Nankou Township, Huata Village is backed by the Yanshan Mountain Range, and the thousand-year-old temple "Heping Temple" is located in the village. According to the record of "Ri Xia Jiu Wen Kao", there is a Heping Temple in Huata Mountain, built in the Tang Dynasty, the temple was built under the supervision of the Tang Dynasty Yuchi Gong, it is said that Emperor Li Shimin of Tang Dynasty wrote the name of the temple with his handwriting, so it is called "Emperor's reward Heping Temple".
The two ginkgo trees in front of the Grand Hall are more than a meter in diameter and more than ten meters high, the two trees have accompanied each other for thousands of years, and are still lush and green, strong and upright.
Every fall, the ginkgo leaves become dazzling golden yellow, glittering in the sunlight, showing the charm of the ancient temple.
(Notice: The Heping Temple is currently closed to the public, and the resumption time will be announced later)
Ancient wingceltis in Tanyu Village
At the foot of Longfeng Mountain, in the northwest valley of Tanyu Village, there are six ancient wingceltis trees, the oldest of which is the first-grade wingceltis tree with a diameter of nearly 3 meters and a height of 6 meters, with a twisted and coiled trunk, which is known as the "King of the Trees in Beijing".
The wingceltis tree, also known as "Diaopiyu", is a Chinese specialty tree species, which is rare in the north due to its very high geological requirements. The ancient wingceltis tree in Tanyu Village, according to the "Beijing Ancient and Famous Trees Record", is at least three thousand years old, and is the oldest ancient tree in Beijing.
In addition to the three thousand years of "super long standby", most of the roots of Tanyu Village's ancient tree are exposed to the rocks due to growing on the hillside, and the roots of different thicknesses and sizes are intertwined, resembling the giant claws of dragons deeply embedded in the rocks, and the trees and stones are completely intermingled.
In 2022, with the protection of the ancient wingceltis tree as the core, the ancient tree theme park was built here, linking the four landscape nodes "Wingceltis Whispering", "Ancient Valley Wingceltis System", "Praying to the Dragon" and "Dreaming of Wingceltis Shadow" through the main park road, allowing visitors to appreciate the ancient tree style in all directions and feel the story of the ancient tree in the realm.
"Guangou Sacred Tree" in Juyongguan Village
At the foot of the Juyongguan Great Wall in the Siqiaozi Village, there is a huge ancient ginkgo tree, because of its location in a natural gully trending southeast to northwest, it is also known as the "Guangou Sacred Tree".
"Guangou Sacred Tree" is a deciduous tree belonging to the Ginkgo family, commonly known as the Baiguo tree, or Gongsun tree. According to historical records, it is said that this tree was planted in the Tang Dynasty, the age of the tree is about 1200 years old, the tree is 25 meters high, the diameter of the chest is 2.5 meters, the crown width of east to west is 20 meters, north to south is 25 meters. This ginkgo tree is a female plant, the tree body is complete, with lush branches and leaves, and covers an area of nearly 670 square meters, the tree is tall and straight, which is very spectacular, and is one of the famous "72 Views of Guangou".
In the fall, "Guangou Sacred Tree" wears a golden dress, glittering and beautiful, visitors are willing to come here and stand under the tree to see its majestic.
Ancient trees do not speak, but carry all the legends, come to Nankou to enjoy the beauty of ancient trees!
Translator: ZHOU Huilin
Reviewer: LIU Jin
