Online tree adoptions prove popular

For three years, a Shanghai woman has marked National Tree-planting Day, on March 12, by paying 8,000 yuan ($1,100) to adopt a cypress tree for a year.

The 80-year-old tree in Guyiyuan, a garden in Shanghai's Jiading district dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644), is among thousands available for online adoption in gardens and parks throughout Shanghai in a program initiated in 2017.

Positioned at the entrance to Guyiyuan's Plum Flower Hall, the cypress is one of the most expensive to adopt. Typically, the cost of adopting a tree in most parks hovers around 90 yuan a year.