Flous Taiwania, a kind of precious and endangered tree of the world, has been successfully introduced into Weishan Yi and Bai Autonomous County of Yunnan Province. The forest at the source of the Honghe (Red) River is growing well, according to a recent article in the overseas edition of People's Daily.

The local forestry department began growing seedlings of Flous Taiwania in 1987 with the aim of improving the ecological environment of the Honghe River source to rescue endangered and precious species of trees and protect forest resources. After the seeds were sown and fostered in nutritious growth bags, they were planted in the field a year later. Of the 12,000 planted, over 85 percent survived.

Now the tallest Flous Taiwania grown in the Weibao Mountain National Forest and Fuqing Reservoir has reached 8.5 meters, with a diameter of 0.16 meters. The trees grow by 0.7 meters each year.

Flous Taiwania is the first-class precious tree species at the state level, which is rarely found in the world. It grows only in Myanmar and Taiwan, Guizhou and Yunnan of China. The highest one can reach 75 meters, equal to a 20-story building.

The tree species has gone through four severe tests of cold climate in glacial periods and has now a history of over 110 million years. Other species of the same genus have all died out. Therefore, it is called a "living fossil".

Flous Taiwania planted in the South Zhao Kingdom period, which dates back 1,200 years, have been found in Yunnan. Forestry experts say the Weibao Mountain, at the source of the Honghe River and with an elevation between 1,700 meters and 2,400 meters above the sea level, is an ideal place to grow the tree species.

(www.china.org.cn by Li Jinhui 05/21/2001)