The last nghien wood kingdom is being destroyed
The nghien (excentrodendron tonkinense) kingdom growing on the rocky mountains in Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang is getting smaller because of illegal logging. This is a hard, tough and durable wood with no termites, even if it is buried underground. Tay and Nung ethnic minorities like using nghien wood to make columns of houses and floors. Walking on nghien-made floors never produces creaking. Nghien-made chopping boards are favored, because the knife cuts are clean won’t leave debris. The nghien trees have been cut down by illegal loggers for years. So many nghien trees, tens of meters high, have been chopped down and vast nghien forests have been cleared because illegal loggers can earn millions of dong from selling nghien wood.
