According to the People's Committee of Lao Cai City, an ancient banian tree located in Thuong (upper) Temple, a famous spiritual landscape in Lao Cai Ward has been acknowledged as Vietnam's heritage tree by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE), reports VietnamPlus.
This is the first ancient tree in Lao Cai to be recognized as a heritage and is the 155th heritage tree nationwide.
This tree, which belongs to the Moraceae family, originated in Southeast Asia and has scientific name as Ficus Drupacea Thunb.
The 36-meter tall tree is about 300 years old with a circumference of 44 meters and is the banian tree with the biggest circumference in Vietnam.
Thuong Temple is located next to the Chinese border and is separated by a river to Yunnan Province.
The temple worships heroic general Tran Hung Dao who led an army against China and brought home three great victories for the nation in the 13th century.
Tourists visit the temple on the Thuong Temple Festival which falls on the full moon of the first lunar month.