The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of Dr Sun Yat-sen's passing. Recently, Alexandra Sun, Sun Yat-Sen's great grand niece and chairman of the Sun Yat -Sen Cultural Foundation, returned to his former residence in Cuiheng Village, Zhongshan City, to pay her respects to her ancestors. There, she visited the tamarind tree Sun Yat-sen personally planted over a century ago — now 142 years old — still standing in the shape of a coiled loong, symbolically "guarding" the historic site. 

As the only tree from Zhongshan selected on the list of Top 100 Ancient Trees in China, this venerable tree is more than a living witness to Sun Yat -Sen's early revolutionary years. It embodies his enduring ideals of "revitalizing China" and his vision of "strengthening the nation through afforestation." 

Today, the tree also serves as a bridge for cultural exchange, spreading the spirit of Sun Yat-sen across the world. Over the past decade, saplings grown from seeds of this mother tree have taken root at Sun Yat-sen memorial sites, schools and parks both in China and abroad. These "green messengers" now stand as living symbols of historical continuity and national identity, nurturing a shared sense of heritage and homeland.