The 2,600-year-old “king” of ancient nanmu in Southwest China’s Guizhou Province is severely damaged. Photo: Sina Weibo

A group of 11 people were sentenced to 10 months to four years in prison for severely damaging a 2,600-year-old nanmu tree in Southwest China’s Guizhou Province and causing the destruction of many other nanmu trees, a species under national second-class protection in China.

The 11 criminals and four other defendants with collateral civil action were also ordered by the local court in Leishan county in Guizhou to bear the repair and rescue costs of over 290,000 yuan ($42,181) for the ancient tree, dubbed the “king of ancient nanmu,” in the form of carbon credits, and they were fined 150,000 yuan, according to a statement from the Guizhou High People’s Court released Tuesday. 

Fortunately, the tree which was serious damaged by criminals for profit remains alive and grows well. It has since been placed under monitoring and attentive care, Red Star News reported on Thursday. 

An official from the local forestry administration in Jianhe county in Guizhou told the media that two surveillance cameras were installed nearby to monitor the tree after the tree was damaged and it has been attended to by designated personnel. 

Cameras have also been installed on the roads leading to the tree and a forest ranger has been arranged to take care of the tree by patrolling the mountain every day to see if the ancient tree is suffering from disease, pests or damage. 

According to researches, the “king of ancient nanmu” took root during the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC–476BC). It witnessed the development of Chinese history over the past 2,600 years and is believed by the local people to have spiritual significance and regarded as a sacred tree safeguarding the village. The fallen branches and leaves of the tree are often brought home by the villagers to enshrine and worship.

On February 1, 2022, villagers found that a large piece of wood from the tree was cut out and missing. The tree with a diameter of 1.9 meters and a chest circumference of six meters suffered seriously from the damage. 

According to the court statement, between September and December of 2021, the defendants surnamed Lu and Zhang and several others illegally cut and sold the nanmu timber for profits in multiple places. They traveled across Guizhou and stole nanmu timber by cutting down large pieces of nanmu wood. Then, they sold the stolen timbers to defendants surnamed Luo and Yang and others, who further transported and resold them by mail to other provinces including East China’s Fujian Province and South China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. 

The criminals damaged over 30 national key protected plants and illegally traded over 200 pieces of nanmu timber with an accumulated volume of 2.29 cubic meters, gaining an accumulated profit of 414,700 yuan. Their criminal behavior led to the death of seven national second-class protected plants and damage to the 2,600-year-old “nanmu king.” 

According to the court verdict, the 11 defendants violated national regulations by damaging, selling and purchasing the protected plant species with the facts of the crime being clear and the evidence being sufficient. 

According to their criminal acts and roles in the crime, they were given different prison sentences from 10 months to four years, with fines and confiscation of their illegal gains.

Global Times