King of Trees

King of Trees

Tianmu Mountain is world-renowned for its "Grand Canopy of Ancient Trees" and boasts an exceptionally rare grove of large Japanese cypress trees. By 2002, there were 19 trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of over 2 meters, and 664 with a DBH over 1 meter. The largest among them has a DBH of 2.75 meters.

There are over 500 Japanese cypresses in Tianmu Mountain that are over 500 years old, concentrated along the stretch from Wuliting to Kaishan Old Hall. Among them, 15 have a DBH of over 2 meters, 36 have a DBH of over 1.8 meters, and 398 have a DBH of over 1 meter. There are tens of thousands of younger “adolescent” cypresses with a DBH under 1 meter.

Introduction

One of the Japanese cypresses was known as the “Thousand-Year Tree” as early as the Song Dynasty. By the Ming Dynasty, it had grown into a massive tree with a girth of four to five people’s arms — a DBH of over 2 meters — and was over 2,000 years old. When Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty visited West Tianmu Mountain during his southern tour, he named this tree the “King of Trees.”

Since then, it was believed that the bark of this grand tree could cure all diseases, prompting visitors and pilgrims to strip it eagerly. As a result, the tree died in the 1930s. However, even though it has been dead for over 70 years, the King of Trees still stands proudly, and a vibrant new green shoot has grown parasitically on its dead trunk.

At spot No. 141, located to the upper right of the “King of Trees,” there is a vigorously growing and majestic Japanese cypress, which has been widely recognized as the new King of Trees in Tianmu Mountain. Experts who have studied the area believe that the Japanese cypress groves of Tianmu Mountain are a rare phenomenon in the world and can be considered a unique marvel of China.

Nature Yoga

Within the scenic area, forest bathing health trails and nature yoga platforms have been set up within the year. Visitors can find a quiet grove, face the lush greenery, and practice yoga. The crisscrossing woods, along with the continuous streams and waterfall clusters, create high concentrations of negative ions in Tianmu Mountain. At the Fuhu Waterfall site in Tianmu Mountain, the negative ion concentration in the air reaches up to 136,000 ions/cm³, setting a new national record and offering therapeutic benefits for certain ailments.