A 1,236-year-old maple tree has been found in Shantou, a coastal city in south China's Guangdong Province, during a survey of local old and rare trees.

The maple tree, 19 meters in height, has a trunk circumference of 333 centimeters and produces tiny yellow flowers in the spring.

Its leaves, turning red beginning in late autumn, are resistant to cold temperatures and survive the chilly winter.

On the outskirts of the city, another ancient maple was found, 700 years old and 20 meters tall, along with a 700-year-old algum.

According to the survey, there are 14 trees 500 years or older in the city, and they are now under special protection. There are 43 trees between 300-500 years of age and 373 100-300 years of age.

Some 430 of the 771 trees surveyed have been added to the list of local rare trees.

In addition, two ancient tree colonies were discovered.

One of them, covers 60 hectares, consists mainly of maples and includes 85 trees with an average lifespan of 250 years. The other covers 2.3 hectares and consists of 40 fig trees, with an average lifespan of 150 years.

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2003)