GUARDIANS OF ANCIENT TREES BRIDGE PAST AND FUTURE

Preserved natural wonders enhance villagers' wealth, cultural connections

Tree healer Jin Hongjun, 55, vividly recalls the painstaking efforts to save China's beloved 4,500-year-old "General Cypress" two decades ago.

Located in the Center of Heaven and Earth historical building complex in Dengfeng, Henan province, the country's oldest cypress tree had suffered from improper care and management over the years.

Jin, from the Dengfeng cultural relics bureau, served as General Cypress' dedicated caretaker from 2004 to 2007, and talks about the ancient tree like an old friend.