In 1972, US President Richard Nixon made a historic visit to China. A plant of the American redwood tree was sent from Nixon's home state of #
California# as a gift, along with four other saplings. Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai decided to plant them in #
Hangzhou#, where he and Nixon would meet.
Nixon said upon returning from China, "Just as we hope that those saplings—those tiny saplings that we left in China—will grow one day into mighty redwoods, so we hope, too, that the seeds planted on this journey for peace will grow and prosper into a more enduring structure for peace and security in the Western Pacific."
The redwood tree has since then stood as a symbol of 🇺🇸🇨🇳 friendship and has been growing well to this day. Yet it has fared differently than in California—a reminder that plants, like people, need to adapt to the local environment.