Tree trunk pulled from Chinese river and dumped in factory backyard turns out to be rare US$3m treasure

A rare piece of 600-year-old wood that was once reserved for the use of the royal family has been found lying in the backyard of a furniture factory in central China, local media reported.

The Phoebe zhennan tree trunk, also known as golden thread wood, had been lying among the weeds at the factory in Jiayu county, Hubei province for five years before it was identified.