Hongtong Dahuaishu Ancestor Memorial Garden, located in Hongtong county of Shanxi province, is a holy place for overseas Chinese. Thousands of overseas Chinese return from afar to pay homage and show their respects to their ancestors each year. In 2018, the scenic area was rated a national 5A tourist attraction.
The Hongtong Dahuaishu, or the Big Locust Tree, is where many Chinese people both in and outside the country believe their ancestors started their long trek of immigration during the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
When Tomb Sweeping Day – a day when Chinese people pay tribute to their ancestors and remember their deceased family members – falls each year, a huge number of people from across
China and overseas visit Hongtong Dahuaishu Ancestor Memorial Garden built around the holy tree, a phenomenon recognized by the authorities as a national intangible cultural heritage.
This old tree, also called the Big Pagoda Tree, is near the city of Linfen, Shanxi province and is considered a holy place by many Chinese, where they can worship their ancestors. It is in the village of Jia, two kilometers north of Linfen, in a park, which is now an AAAA tourist spot, under provincial protection. More than 200,000 people visit every year to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.
The front gate of the park, "Root-carving Gate", has the shape of a pagoda tree root, and is 20 meters wide and 13 meters tall and, along with the antiquity of the tree, suggests that the visitors have the same roots. And there is a spirit screen in the scenic spot with the character for "root" (根) on it, an inscription from Zhang Ding, a famous artist (1917-2010) to reflect an ancestral feeling.
The Pagoda Tree site also contains a list of 450 family names of people who migrated from here to places all across the country, 600 years ago. So, Chinese from home and abroad come here to look for a blood relationship with the big pagoda tree.
Travel Tips
Address: No 2 Gongyuan Street, Guhuaibei Road, Hongtong county, Linfen city, Shanxi province
http://en.sxhtdhs.com
Opening hours:08:0-18:00
Entrance Fees: CNY 80
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