A huge, 300-year-old wild walnut tree taken from a nature reserve in southern China has been tracked down over 1,500 miles away in the southwest.
The tree went missing in April from the Lagou Nature Reserve in Guangxi Province. It is over 50 feet tall, around 6.5 feet in diameter, and weighs 26 tons.
It is thought to have first been sold by a villager surnamed Huang for 1,000 yuan (about $165), but the price reached 1 million yuan (about $164,000) after the tree was onsold several times due its valuable timber, according to the International Daily News.
The tree was intercepted six months later in Guiyang by the Guangxi Province Forestry Police Department. To date 10 people have been apprehended in relation to the case.
Local police attempted to replant the tree in the reserve using a crane.
Netizens commented about the news via an article on People’s Daily Online. One pointed out that without professional assistance, the tree would probably die as it had been so carelessly dug out.
Another said: “I think it’s not easy to steal such a huge tree without using a machine. Why didn’t the local authorities respond while it was being stolen? They took belated action only after the old tree was stolen, but the officials involved are even being rewarded.”
A third added: “No market, no stealing! China’s economy is controlled by the government.”
Research by Lisa Huang.
