Menglai Palm Grove

　　The "Palm Grove" refers to a stretch of trees distributed around the famous Cangyuan Cliff Painting Valley scenic area, extending approximately 20 kilometers in total, hence referred to as a "grove belt." It is a rare ornamental plant listed under national second-class protection. According to comprehensive investigation data on the ecological and cultural resources of Cangyuan County by expert groups from the Yunnan Provincial Construction Department, Provincial Tourism Bureau, and other departments in 1995: "The average annual temperature of the Mengdong River is 19.3°C." In the "Landscape Resources Table," under the category "Plant Landscapes," entries such as "Menglai Palm Grove" are recorded. Under the description of "tall and graceful century-old palms," it states: "...the tree canopy resembles a canopy or umbrella, with the top leaf sheaths like steel needles, piercing straight into the sky. The massive palm leaves,... shaped like banana fans; when a gentle breeze passes, the leaves tremble, rustling softly, just like a peacock spreading its tail. The tall trunks and glossy green, massive canopies make the palms particularly eye-catching, with their swaying fronds adding graceful charm; the scattered palms stand alone, each with its own unique character." The conclusion is: "The palm is a highly ornamental tropical and subtropical scenic forest tree species,... with large groves of palms on the sloping land beneath karst cliffs, their fronds swaying and complementing the rugged cliffs, creating a uniquely picturesque landscape." This is the consensus and evaluation reached by the Yunnan expert group after their investigation. It was also the tree that most caught my eye when I first started working in the Awa Mountains, and I once praised it as the "beauty tree."