Every autumn, a single tree in the foothills south of Xi’an reminds the world what November can look like. Behind Gu Guanyin Buddhist Temple in China’s Zhongnan Mountains, a ginkgo believed to be more than 1,400 years old lets go of its leaves in one great rush, burying the temple courtyard beneath a sea of gold. We first spotted this spectacle via Colossal, and a decade of viral Novembers later, it has lost none of its power.
A Golden Flood in the Zhongnan Mountains
Ginkgo trees are famous for their synchronized leaf drop. After the first hard cold snap, the fan shaped leaves turn saffron almost in unison, then fall within days of one another. On a tree this size, that timing produces something close to weather. The drop usually begins in mid November, and for the next few weeks the walled courtyard disappears under a carpet of yellow deep enough to swallow your ankles.
The monks let the leaves lie where they fall. Nothing is raked and nothing is tidied, so the courtyard looks flooded with light, the dark tiled rooflines of the temple floating above a pool of gold. Seen from the air, the tree reads like a single brushstroke of color against the grey roofs and green hills.
A Tree Planted for an Emperor
Local tradition holds that the tree was planted for Emperor Li Shimin, the second emperor of the Tang dynasty, who reigned from 626 to 649. Whether or not imperial hands were involved, the timeline fits, and it makes this ginkgo a living witness to some fourteen centuries of Chinese history.
Ginkgoes are built for that kind of endurance. The species is often called a living fossil, with relatives in the fossil record stretching back more than 200 million years, and researchers have found that ancient ginkgoes show few of the usual signs of aging. Barring misfortune, this tree could keep flooding its courtyard with gold for centuries to come.
Seeing the Leaf Drop for Yourself
The tree’s internet fame has consequences. After these images went viral in 2015, tens of thousands of visitors began arriving on peak days, and the temple now manages the season with timed reservations. If you find yourself in Xi’an in mid to late November, plan ahead, and build in some flexibility, since the exact timing of the color shifts with the weather each year.
Few sights make a better argument for traveling in autumn. For more seasonal wonders, wander through our nature section, see the other most beautiful places on Earth we return to again and again, or dig into our travel archives for journeys worth building around a single tree.
