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Lichuan is a county-level city of the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, in southwestern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, located 52 kilometres west of Enshi City, the prefecture seat, as the crow flies. Lichuan is believed to be the location of most of the naturally growing Metasequoia glyptostroboides trees in existence. The Metasequoia genus, related to the giant redwoods of North America, was first described as a fossil from the Mesozoic Era in 1941. But in 1943 a small stand of an unidentified tree was discovered in Modaoxi, presently known as Moudao Town, in Lichuan County, by Zhan Wang. After the end of the World War II, this tree species was officially described as the only living species of Metasequoia, and given the scientific name Metasequoia glyptostroboides. In 1948 the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University sent an expedition to Lichuan to collect seeds and, soon after, seedling trees were distributed to various universities and arboreta worldwide for growth trials.