Imagine wandering through Yangjiaxi Village in southeast China's Fujian Province, where ancient banyan trees – some older than 800 years – stretch their sprawling roots like nature's wise elders. These leafy giants have silently watched generations grow, with locals joking: 'We don’t raise banyans; they raise us.'
In the latest episode of Journeys in Nature, viewers explore how these living monuments create a living bridge between past and present. The village’s youngest banyan (a spry 100-year-old!) offers the same shade where ancestors once rested – a natural time capsule blending ecology with cultural memory.
Fujian’s coastal biodiversity shines through the series, from cliff-dwelling seabirds to mountainside-grazing goats
. But the banyans stand apart as organic historians, their aerial roots weaving stories of resilience – a perfect metaphor for communities thriving where land meets sea.
Reference(s):
Eastern Fujian Series Ep. 6: Under the shade of the banyan tree
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