An aerial view of the ginkgo tree at Shengshui Taoist Temple in China.

Gulf Today Report

The 1,400-year-old ginkgo tree in China at a temple in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, in central China, attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every fall.

The tree is believed to have been planted by a Chinese emperor some 1,400 years ago.

The millennium tree at Shengshui Taoist Temple has gone viral on social media over its bright-gold hues and has become a popular early winter destination in Rongcheng, a county-level city in Weihai, Shandong province.

The trees in China are usually bright in autumn, with golden yellow and dark red colours.

The tree is a natural attraction. Experts expect the tree's distinctive colour to remain for thousands of years.

A team of experts studied the ginkgo tree in different periods ranging from 10- 600 years.

After comparing younger ginkgos, it was learnt that the older ginkgos produced less of the plant hormone auxin.

The auxin stimulates the growth, and more of the hormone abscisic acid, which helps plants to respond to stress.