There is a forest with the fragrance of caramel in Chongming. The leaves would change colors in different seasons, such as purple, green, golden and crimson. This miraculous tree is Cercidiphyllum japonicum. It is fragrant and enchanting when leaves begin to change color and fall in autumn and winter.

This forest is located in Hanxianyuan Nursery Base in Bao’an Village of Miao Town. Many seedlings could be seen in the forest. In summer, red leaves have become green. On some branches, red leaves are mixed with a wide area of green leaves, looking so beautiful. Walk in the forest, you will feel the sweet fragrance from the trees. That’s why it is called “Lian Xiang”. (Xiang means fragrant in Chinese.)

Lu Yi, founder of Shanghai Zhuolan Horticultural Cooperative: In midsummer, Cercidiphyllum japonicum is particularly afraid of being exposed to strong light. The leaves will shake off their original red color and change into green to increase SPF. In autumn, the leaves will gradually become yellow like gingko. They will become red again after frost, and give off strong fragrance of caramel. Why it is called Lian Xiang in Chinese? Because the braches contain pyrocatechol. When you shake them or smell them, you will feel the fragrance from the branches.

Lu Yi, the founder of the cooperative, is a master degree holder from Tokyo University. She loves green plants. In 2015, to realize her dream, she resigned her post as a white collar in a foreign-funded company, and founded a horticultural cooperative in Chongming.

She loves precious plants. And she wants to add more precious tree species on the island. After receiving instructions from experts in Shanghai Municipal Academy of Horticultural Sciences, Lu Yi introduced several precious tree species nationwide and planted them in Chongming. One of them is Cercidiphyllum japonicum.

Cercidiphyllum japonicum originally grows in Northwest China. The population decreased, because of its low fruiting rate, and the seedlings are easily to be damaged by storms and pests. For this reason, this ancient arbor is a tree under secondary protection of China.

Protecting precious trees is Lu Yi’s dream. Under the assistance from Shanghai Municipal Academy of Horticultural Sciences, Lu Yi introduced the first batch of seedlings to Chongming.

However, it is not easy to localize Cercidiphyllum japonicum. To make the tree adapt to local environment, Lu Yi has to plant “chopsticks seedlings” at first. She has to solve other problems as well, such as the alkaline soil, excessively growing weeds, excessive rainfall and freezing weather comparing with the temperature in the tree’s original habitat.

Thanks to Lu’s efforts, among the 20000 seedlings, 15000 seedlings survived on the island, and Lu’s cooperative becomes the largest base in East China for planting Cercidiphyllum japonicum. In the near future, this colorful and fragrant tree will appear on the streets in downtown Shanghai for citizens to know about and appreciate.

Lu Yi, founder of Shanghai Zhuolan Horticultural Cooperative: I bought these trees from Sichuan. The Wenchuan Earthquake almost made the population extinct there. There are about 15000 trees in our base. As our leader used to say, the place of origin does not have as many trees as we have. His remark makes our determination more steadfast. We want to plant more trees for our descendants, because they are living fossils. It’s uneasy for them to survive from the quaternary glacier up to now. We want to protect this precious tree and make more people to see them.

To reduce pests, Lu Yi raised chickens in the forest, such as Wahui Chicken, Guifei Chicken and You Chicken. They eat pests and add vitality to the forest. Lu also raised a blue peafowl. It wanders about in the forest and adds tinge of wilderness to the forest.

Lu also planted precious trees and flowers, e.g. European alder, quercus viriniana, zelkova schneideriana, day lily and African agapanthus in the garden.

Lu Yi said that horticulture needs fresh blood and green plants of new species definitely have prosperous future. Species like Cercidiphyllum japonicum have good reputation abroad. They need support for further development. She hopes to protect these precious trees and leave them to people in the future.