Maonuo Ancient Village

Maonuo Ancient Village

Originally surrounded by lush thatch and clear pools, with a mountain peak resembling a wok lid, this village earned the name Maonuo (literally “Thatch Wok”). Such an unassuming little village boasts the title of “The First Ancient Tree Village in Eastern Zhejiang.” It is home to 90 ancient trees over 400 years old, whose roots push up from the ground, twisting and intertwining, as if telling tales of historical vicissitudes and the passage of life.

Maonuo — a rather obscure name. Many may not even know how to pronounce the character 钺 (huò). According to Cihai (the Sea of Words), it refers to an ancient Chinese cooking vessel — a tripod without legs, similar to a modern large wok — primarily used for cooking fish and meat. Another theory suggests that 钺 was an ancient agricultural implement.

The ancient village is located on Siming Mountain in the western part of Zhangshui Town, Yinzhou District, Ningbo, adjacent to Tianleikeng Village and Diping Village. Passing through Diping Village leads to Zhàngxī, the heart of Siming Mountain. According to the Siming Yan Family Genealogy: “About ten li from our family’s residence lies the Yan clan of Maonuo. Their ancestors originally bore the surname Zhuāng but changed it to Yán to avoid the naming taboo of Emperor Ming of Han. Later descendants migrated from Zhàngxī to Maonuo, where their descendants have thrived for centuries.”

After crossing mountains and hills to reach Maonuo Village, the first sight to greet you is the lush, shady ancient tree cluster at the entrance. These ancient trees include various species such as pines, maples, torreya, and ginkgos. Although the oldest among them have endured over 600 years of wind and sun, they remain lush and well-preserved, standing around 40 to 50 meters tall, with trunks so thick that it takes three or four adults to encircle them. The most miraculous is an unnamed ancient tree at the entrance (with a trunk diameter of about one meter). Despite its hollowed-out center — where you can peer through the hole at the base and faintly glimpse the sky — its canopy remains full and vibrant, exuding strong vitality.

This small mountain village is rich in natural resources, with 96 ancient trees including 27 golden larches, 3 ginkgos, 54 torreyas, and 4 maples. Among them, 52 trees are aged between 400 and 900 years. The most famous is the golden larch known as the “Crown of All Trees,” which stands 51 meters tall, has a trunk circumference of 4.2 meters, and is approximately 500 years old. Its trunk girth and timber volume rank first in China. In May 2006, it was named one of the “Top Ten Green New Landscape Villages in Ningbo.”

Legend has it that during the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era, a villager, facing family hardship, wanted to cut down trees to sell for money. Another villager, aiming to protect the trees, bought the ownership of the large trees. Later, when someone else attempted to fell trees for profit, two kind-hearted villagers stepped in and purchased the trees. This time, the buyers erected a “Tree Felling Ban Stele” near the village, dated from the Daoguang era, with inscriptions detailing the regulations for protecting the village’s trees.