World's eldest juniper recorded in Tibet

Standing 57 meters tall, an estimated 3,200-year-old giant cypress in the Tibet autonomous region has been recognized as the world’s oldest living Yarlung Zangpo River cypress by the World Record Certification Agency.

Located in the region’s eastern Nyingchi city, it has been given Tibetan name “Lhashing Shukpa”, or “sacred cypress tree”. With a perimeter of 14.8 meters, the crown shadow of the giant tree covers more than 0.66 hectares.

According to the culture and tourism bureau of the city’s Dragyib district, the tree is one of China’s rare and unique varieties.

The district invited experts from the region’s agriculture and animal husbandry college to conduct a sampling analysis in 2017. Results showed the tree was calculated to have an estimated age of about 3,200 years, dating back to China’s Shang (16th century - 11th century BC) and Zhou (11th century - 256 BC) dynasties.

According to the bureau, more than 1,000 cypress trees grow behind it, and with the size of the cypress wood spanning more than 14 soccer fields, it is considered the region’s biggest cypress wood.

The World Record Certification Agency, based in London, has opened branches in many countries including the US, China and India, and aims to help people explore their potential and re-examine the world records in all fields, according to the introduction released on its official website.