Ginkgo Tree
Ginkgo trees are the most important trees in Chinese culture. The oldest ginkgo tree in China is estimated to be about 3,500 years old. The Chinese believe that ginkgo trees hold special healing powers. Ginkgo leaves, nuts, and extracts are used in medicine to treat a wide variety of ailments including memory loss and lung infections. the fruit of the tree, the nuts, are considered a delicacy and can be found in many traditional Chinese dishes. Many people think ginkgo trees should be planted on special occasions such as deaths, births, and anniversaries. the ginkgo tree is so popular that it became the national tree of China. A month into the voting, 1.8 million votes had been counted, with more than 1.7 million of them going towards the ginkgo tree. Dai Sijie uses the ginkgo tree in his novel because nature was one of the few things that Mao Zedong couldn't censor or ban during the Chinese Revolution.
