A rock carving depicting the name of a historic Scottish whisky distillery has been unearthed more than 5500 miles away in China.

Construction workers discovered the 8ft rock, which has the word Glenturret inscribed on it, while building a holiday resort in the mountainous Moganshan region, east of Shanghai.

Glenturret Distillery in Crieff, Perthshire, is the UK's oldest whisky distillery, having been established in 1775. It produces the Famous Grouse and the Glenturret Single Malt whiskies.

The developers of the Chinese resort says some of the land they are working on used to belong to Dr Duncan Main, a Scottish missionary who spent 45 years of his life working in China in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

They could not work out the connection between the Ayrshire-born doctor and Glenturret so made contact with distillery staff in a bid to trace the roots of the rock carving.

Distillery staff were equally baffled and are now appealing to the public for help in solving the riddle.

Grant Horsfield, who runs the company behind the eco-resort development in Moganshan, said: "We know Dr Duncan Main, one of the most famous missionaries in China at the time, had a castle on the property and that it was used as a summer retreat by him and his hospital staff.

"It was built in 1910 as a sanatorium and known simply as Number 1 Moganshan.

"We also know it passed into the hands of the government of Zhejiang for a short time during China's nationalisation and then was handed back to Dr Main's son, S Duncan Main.

"It was then sold to the Jiangnan Auto Company and opened as the Green Shade Inn. However, it was not well maintained and was torn down in the 1960s."

With the help of researchers on both sides of the world, including the history officer at AK Bell Library in Perth, the two parties have filled in a few blanks.

Stuart Cassells, general manager of Glenturret Distillery, said: "At first it might seem not seem like a surprise that a Scottish missionary doctor would be linked to a Scottish whisky distillery.

"But the fact is that Dr Duncan Main was born and brought up in Ayrshire and was educated in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

"We have yet to find a link between Dr Main and our own region of Crieff, which is some distance away at the foot of the Scottish Highlands.

"We're wondering if perhaps Dr Main was such a fan of his native drink that he was one of the first importers of Glenturret whisky to China.

"Another possibility is that the rock has uncovered a link, not to Glenturret Distillery, but to a British steamship called Glenturret that we also know existed.

"What is clear is that Glenturret made its mark, literally, halfway around the world. We'd love to have someone come forward to shed some more light on what is truly a fascinating story and a very colourful cast of characters."

Glenturret Distillery is asking anybody with information on Dr Duncan Main, particularly regarding his time in China, or the mysterious rock to get in touch.