AN ANCIENT TREE ON AN ANCIENT RIVER IN THE THREE GORGES REGION OF CHINA

Look what a lovely painting my friend Beena sent to me. It is so calm and serene that it immediately makes your mind wander and imagine things. I do not know why, but it looks to me like the people on one side of the river look different from the people on the other side. I need to remember to ask my friend Beena why that is so. Luckily, though, there is a bridge in this painting connecting the two sides of the river, so that people from one side can visit and learn from the people on the other side.

To me, the people on the left side look more ancient and those on the right side look more modern. But even though the people are different on the two sides of the river, both sides of the river have the same type of tree. Did you notice that too? I bet you did! And do you know what type of tree I imagine the trees on this painting to be? Ginkgo Biloba trees!!! Yes, you heard it right, Ginkgo Biloba – yet another funny name for our collection of funny names . But the Ginkgo Biloba tree is not just a tree with a funny name, it is also the most ancient tree in the world. Yes-sir-y-bob, it is sooo ancient that it already existed in the time of the dinosaurs, millions and millions of years ago. I am not kidding you, I promise. In fact, the Ginkgo tree is probably the only thing living today that actually met an honest-to-goodness live T-rex. Can you imagine that??? I bet you the Ginkgo tree misses its old friend the T-rex!

You know what else is interesting about the Ginkgo Biloba trees? Even though they now exist in many different parts of the world, they were originally born in a part of China that has a big river called the Yangtze River. There is a beautiful part of the Yangtze River that is called the Three Gorges Scenic Area. I believe that this is the area where the first Ginkgo Biloba tree was born. One day, I want to visit the Three Gorges Area and to swim in the Yangtze River. If I am lucky, I will even see some Ginkgo Biloba trees while I am there. Oh, oh, and if I do I will dig under the tree to see if I can find some dinosaur bones, that would be cool, don’t you think?

I have one more interesting thing to tell you about the Ginkgo Biloba tree before I finish today’s story and that is that this tree has been used both as a medicine to treat sick people and also as a poison to kill them. This is indeed a special tree. Not only is it the oldest tree in the world that lived with the dinosaurs, it can also be used both as a medicine and as a poison. What a truly incredible tree this Ginkgo Biloba tree is.

Now it is your turn. What story or memories do you see in this painting called “An Ancient Tree on an Ancient River in the Three Gorges Region of China”? Think of it and then write it down. Oh, and then don’t forget to pass it on to a friend so we can come up with 1,000 stories for this painting, together. See you next time!