Visit Lam Kinh (Thanh Hoa) to see the "laughing" guava tree.
(Baonghean.vn) - During a spring trip to the Lam Kinh historical site (Thanh Hoa), a team of reporters from the Economic and Electronic Department of Nghe An Newspaper witnessed a strange and unexplained phenomenon: a guava tree at the tomb of King Le Thai To that "laughs" whenever it's scratched.
After introducing the history of King Le Thai To's tomb, our tour guide, Le Thi Loan, with her captivating voice, drew us in with a surprising and fascinating story about a guava tree that "laughs" when scratched. Following her to the left corner of the tomb grounds, we saw a slender guava tree resembling a willow, lined up alongside the statues of the king. Ms. Loan said, "Now that the wind is calm, you only need to gently scratch the trunk to know." I lightly scratched the trunk with my finger, and strangely, the leaves on the branches all trembled slightly, while the leaves of other trees nearby remained still. Even stranger, only the leaves on the branches that I scratched trembled; if I scratched the base of the tree, all the leaves at the top moved.
The guava tree "smiling" at the tomb of King Le Thai To. Photo: Tran Hai
Ms. Loan added: According to village legend, a man from Hanh Thien, Nam Dinh, who was childless, prayed at the king's tomb for a son and, after praying, donated four large elephant statues and planted a guava tree in front of the tomb in 1933. The story of the guava tree "laughing" was told by a Frenchman in 1942 during an archaeological study at the Lam Kinh historical site. However, more than two years ago, this "laughing" guava tree was broken by a storm. Fortunately, the historical site had already grafted some branches to preserve the species. What makes it even stranger is that the same guava tree, when planted elsewhere, doesn't "laugh," but when planted at the tomb of King Le Thai To, it retains its "laughing gene."
Local elders believe that this guava tree was planted in a sacred place, making it sacred and possessing a kind of intuition, like a human being. We hope that scientists will conduct research to find an explanation for the guava tree that "laughs" at the Lam Kinh historical site.
Van Truong
