The Rubber Mother Tree

The Rubber Mother Tree

The Rubber Mother Tree

Rubber is an important industrial raw material. The main rubber-producing regions in China are Hainan, Taiwan, Guangxi, and Yunnan, among which Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan is the largest, covering over 1.3 million mu. Although Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture is not a major producing area, with just over 100,000 mu, the rubber from Dehong has made indelible historical contributions to smallholder rubber planting in China.

In 1940, Mr. Dao Airen, the 24th chieftain of the Gan'ya Pacification Commission in Yingjiang County, purchased 800 rubber seedlings during his return trip from studying in Japan via Malaysia and planted them on Phoenix Mountain in Xincheng Township, Yingjiang. These were the first batch of rubber trees introduced to China—two years earlier than those in Taiwan and one year earlier than those in Hainan. Due to technical limitations, management issues, and wartime chaos, only three trees survived by the time of the liberation. Later, two more died, leaving one surviving tree that has since been listed as one of China’s nationally protected key trees.