Witch Twist Willow

Witch Twist Willow

When you come to the central and eastern parts of Naiman Banner, you will see clusters and patches of bizarrely shaped willow trees—some resembling galloping horses, some like giant dragons, others like majestic lions... As long as you let your imagination run wild, you’ll find a match for the shapes before your eyes. Speaking of willows, people usually imagine their graceful charm with “ten thousand threads of green silk hanging down,” yet what stands before you looks more like an old man weathered by time. It is tall, thick-trunked, with bark that is cracked and a body covered in scars. Surprisingly, even when the trunk is hollow inside, it can still be lush and verdant, which can’t help but draw heartfelt admiration for its vitality.

The Witch Twist Willow is actually the drought-resistant willow, also known locally as Scarred Willow or Turtle Willow. It is a product of the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Jiaolai River, which flows through Naiman Banner, experienced two major floods. While the floods brought heavy disasters to the people, they also left an indelible legacy: thousands of hectares of fertile silt deposited along the riverbanks. After the floods receded, large areas of natural willow forests formed, becoming a major forest resource for Naiman Banner. Since then, the willow trees have formed an inseparable bond with the local people. When people needed handles for axes, shovels, or picks, they would simply go to the willow woods to cut some—the wood was soft and lightweight. For carts, plows, rafters, or beams, they would also head to the willow woods, where natural resources were abundant and readily available. In spring and autumn, when Naiman Banner sees little rain and strong winds that whip up clouds of dust, these willow forests served as a natural barrier, protecting people’s production and daily life. In winter, the willow branches and leaves became nutritious fodder for livestock. According to sources, willow leaves are rich in nutrients and greatly benefit the quality of animal fur. Farmers and herders may not fully understand the science behind it, but they know that cutting leafy willow branches in late autumn and pressing them preserves the green leaves for winter, which livestock love to eat. As the locals say plainly, feeding this to their animals is almost like feeding them grain. So the willow woods also became an “air pasture.” In the 1960s and 1970s, environmental and ecological awareness was weak. The selfless contributions of the willow trees led to endless exploitation by people—cutting timber, lopping off branches, and even chopping off treetops to encourage more branching. These natural willow forests eventually could not bear the burden and most were destroyed, with the surviving ones left heavily scarred. Year after year of branch cutting meant old wounds never healed before new ones were added, and over the years, the unhealed injuries formed tumor-like growths and the uniquely twisted shapes we see today. Even so, these Witch Twist Willows never stopped giving. During the tree’s bark-shedding season, people would cut the newly sprouted branches, peel off the bark, and turn them into white strips to weave into handicrafts. When looking at the exquisitely delicate willow-woven crafts, who could imagine they originated from these ugly Witch Twist Willows?

From the 1950s to the end of the century, these natural willow forests accompanied the people of Naiman for fifty springs and autumns. Unconsciously, the emotional connection with the willows became woven into the culture. Some, drawing inspiration from ancient poems that used willows to convey feelings of parting, turned the willows of Naiman into a touching love story between a fairy and the people—these willows being the fairy’s reward to kind-hearted folk. Others wove the willow woods into tales of the Eight Immortals, claiming these trees were made into flutes by Han Xiangzi using willow twigs. No matter the legend, they all express people’s deep affection for the willows. Perhaps things we are about to lose seem all the more precious. And so, the remaining natural willow trees are now cherished even more. Fortunately, the People’s Government of Naiman Banner has listed the natural willow trees as part of a natural protection project. A 50,000-mu nature reserve has been established in the Baxiantong Forest Farm, and successful trials of pollarding and directional cultivation have been carried out. These once nearly expendable natural willows will once again make greater contributions to the people of Naiman.