King Walnut Park

King Walnut Park

King Walnut Park is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

King Walnut Park

King Walnut Park was rated as a national AAA-level tourist attraction and a national agricultural tourism demonstration site in December 2007. It is located in Qialewaxi Village, Baghchi Town, Hotan County, 7 kilometers from the nearest hub city, Hotan City. The site type is a national agricultural tourism demonstration site.

According to research, the King Walnut tree was planted during the Tang Dynasty in 644 AD, making it 1,365 years old, and can be regarded as the oldest fruit tree around. Despite enduring a millennium of change, the Walnut King still stands tall and majestic, with lush foliage and a robust, upright posture that leaves visitors with a sense of profundity and vitality. The Walnut King is the only surviving living witness to the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Yotkan, once a glorious capital. It lies 1,000 meters from the center of the Yotkan ruins (In 1866, during the rule of Niyaz Akhun Bek in Hotan, this cultural site was discovered while digging an irrigation channel near Yotkan).

King Walnut Park covers an area of 41 mu, with the Walnut King Tree occupying one mu. The tree stands 16.7 meters tall, with a crown diameter of 20.6 meters, and has a roughly "Y"-shaped form. The main trunk is so thick that it would take more than five adults holding hands to encircle it. Due to its age, the center of the trunk has hollowed out, forming an interconnected "Immortal’s Cave" large enough for four people to stand in. The tree yields over 6,000 walnuts annually. These walnuts are known for their large size, thin shells, and plump kernels, and are believed to have health benefits such as strengthening the body, nourishing kidneys, supporting liver and lung health, improving digestion and spleen function, and promoting longevity. Legend has it that during his return journey to China after obtaining Buddhist scriptures, Xuanzang fainted from hunger and thirst. Upon awakening, he found that the barren Gobi Desert was covered with lush trees. A gentle breeze caused the fruits to fall, revealing smooth, glistening flesh inside the hard shells. Xuanzang ate some and immediately felt refreshed and energized. He packed many fruits to eat one per day, which sustained him on his journey. When he reached Hotan, he gave the last three fruits to the hospitable local people of Yutian. The hardworking and simple locals planted the sacred fruits as seeds, and after several generations of cultivation, they grew into the towering tree seen today. Another legend says that during the Ming Dynasty, a couple from the Central Plains, both extremely ugly in appearance and childless despite being over fifty, dreamed of a silver-haired, youthful-looking elder who said, “In the western deserts, there is a sacred tree. Eating its fruit will grant you a child.” Upon waking, they traveled for three years to find this tree, ate its fruit, and soon the wife became beautiful, bore a child within months, and later, their son achieved top honors in the imperial examinations, becoming the top scholar. The tree thus earned the name “Scholar’s Tree.” Having endured a thousand years of wind and frost, the Walnut King seems to have absorbed the essence of heaven and earth and embodies a spiritual energy. Locals regard it as a “sacred tree” and a “longevity tree.” They visit it once or twice a year to pray silently, wishing for a long life like the old tree. It seems the “sacred tree” really does have spiritual power—there are many elderly people among the locals, and among the over 200 seniors in Qialewaxi Village alone, eighty or ninety are over 80 years old.

The Walnut King not only brings wonder to the local people but also bestows luck upon merchants and travelers along the ancient Silk Road. It is said that in 1877, when Zuo Zongtang, a Qing Dynasty general, passed through this area on his western campaign, he stopped to admire the tree and exclaimed, “This is the greatest tree under heaven!” He rode around the tree three times. His journey back to the capital went incredibly smoothly, and upon returning, he gained great favor with the imperial court. His career flourished from then on. To this day, renowned figures from home and abroad make it a point to see the tree when passing through Hotan, hoping to gain some of its good fortune.

This agricultural tourism demonstration site centers around the King Walnut and features six attractions: the Thousand-Meter Grape Corridor, Folk Culture Street, Farmers’ Square Park, the King Walnut Tree, the Gourd Corridor, and the Walnut Exhibition Hall. The park is distinctive in character and pleasant in scenery. By deeply exploring walnut culture, the site has developed unique walnut wood and walnut handicrafts, offering a wide variety of products and forming a comprehensive system of tourist souvenirs characterized by walnut and walnut wood processing.

Nowadays, renowned individuals from both China and abroad make it a point to visit the tree when passing through Hotan, hoping to gain some good fortune.