Mount Qingcheng's 1,900-year-old ginkgo becomes a film-pilgrimage landmark

China Daily reported that the ginkgo tree standing before Tianshi Cave on Mount Qingcheng in Southwest China's Sichuan Province is around 1,900 years old; legend has it that Zhang Ling, founder of Tianshidao (Way of the Celestial Masters), an early school of Taoism, planted it during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). Festooned with red silk ribbons bearing visitors' wishes, the sight stayed with director Mu Zhengyang and inspired a defining scene in All Wishes Come True!, where the protagonists gather around a stone table for a hot pot feast beneath a ginkgo tree patterned after the ancient one.[1]

The film, in which eight ordinary people become unlikely heroes as they foil a villain's plot to endanger humanity, is scheduled for release in more than 15 countries and regions and has grossed 1.4 billion yuan (reported as about US$195 million), making it the highest-grossing Chinese animated film of the year so far.[1]

He Zhen, deputy director of the scenic spot's administrative center, told China Daily that many fans have made special trips to Mount Qingcheng since the film's release, with a notable increase in visitors coming to take photos with the tree; according to his office, the scenic spot received 30,800 foreign visitors between July 1 and August 6, up 25.2 percent year-on-year, and now offers audio guides in multiple languages for international tourists.[1]

Ying Xujun, president of Pearl Studio and chief producer of All Wishes Come True!, said the film also drew inspiration from the murals of Yongle Palace, the ethereal seascapes of Penglai Pavilion and the cliffside wonders of Xuankong Temple. "The film is not only a cinematic presentation of Chinese culture, but also a vivid invitation to explore China's cultural and tourism riches," Ying said, adding that if overseas audiences, inspired by the film, feel a pull to come to China to visit these sites in person, then its role as a cultural bridge will be fulfilled.[1]

China Daily noted that Mount Qingcheng is no stranger to the screen: three iconic sequences from the 1986 TV series Journey to the West were filmed on the mountain, and the 2016 Hollywood blockbuster Kung Fu Panda 3 drew heavily on its natural scenery and the architectural style of its Taoist temples, according to Zeng Min, director of Dujiangyan's Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Sports and Tourism.[1]