Ancient Trees, Ancient Cities

The first photo is an ancient tree found at the West Lake Park in Yangzhou. The layered trunk had been a witness to the passing of time, apparently with great endurance and simplicity. The next two pictures were shot at the imperial garden at the Forbidden City. The consort pines are believed to be more than 200 years old and the one enclosed with a signage thrived for 400 years. A story goes that during the warring periods, Emperor Kang of the Song Kingdom forced the wife of a certain Han Ping to marry him. Han Ping was exiled and was eventually killed. When Han's wife learned the sorry fate of her husband, she jumped into her husband's grave during his funeral and killed herself. Enraged, the king buried the bodies separately. Years went by and two trees grew out of these graves with their twisted branches entwined in a tight embrace. Fantastic story it is but it makes ogling at these ancient trees more interesting.