This 1,000-year-old pine tree’s protector fears changing weather patterns

Article excerpt

High in the mountains at 5,500 feet, Hu Xiaosong makes daily patrols to protect a 1,000-year-old pine tree he considers family. The ancient tree, a living monument to a millennium of history, now faces an uncertain future as changing weather patterns threaten its survival. Xiaosong's devotion reveals both the ecological stakes of climate shifts and the deep cultural bonds between people and nature in Asia. What was once stable, the seasons, the rainfall, the temperature rhythms that shaped the tree's growth, has become unpredictable, testing the limits of even the most dedicated guardians.