Old pagoda in C China's Hunan (5/6)

Photo taken on March 26, 2014 shows a century-old pagoda, with a hackberry tree grown on its top, located in the northern suburb of Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province. The five-story pagoda, built in 1838 and made of granite, was 12 meters high. It is said the 7-meter-high hackberry tree has been a companion with the pagoda for more than a hundred years. According to the local residents, the pagoda was hit by a lightning in 1900, and after that some birds favored to nestle on its top. The accumulation of birds droppings and dirt provided good conditions for the growth of trees. In 2008, local government invited experts from several universities of Hunan to make maintenance work for the pagoda, hoping the two old "friends" can be companion in more or less a permanent way. (Xinhua/Li Ga)