ZHENGZHOU/WUHAN: Strolling in a garden, Zhou Danni and her family marveled at the splendid cherry blossoms. As a gentle breeze snaked its way through the trees, petals rained down upon them, and tourists reached for their cameras to capture the scene.
After an ice-and-snow frenzy kept revelers warm throughout the Spring Festival, China has transformed into a land of flowers in the spring. Tens of thousands of people like Zhou came out to enjoy the blossoms across the country.
The 29-year-old woman came especially from southwest China’s Sichuan Province to Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, which is renowned for its cherry blossoms. She joined a long queue just after 8 a.m. to enter the East Lake Cherry Blossom Garden, where more than 10,000 cherry trees of over 60 species greet visitors with their fragrance and flowers in full bloom.
“I did my research before coming here,” she said. “With the new green leaves on some of the trees juxtaposed against the pink and white flowers on others, it’s like walking into one of Monet’s paintings.”
Since March, blossom-themed tourism has dominated online travel platforms, with cities publishing “blossom maps” to guide visitors and boost the local economies.
Statistics released by Chinese travel services platform Qunar showed that between February and March, searches for “flower viewing” more than tripled compared with 2024.
According to local governments, 11 flower-viewing attractions in Hubei have received more than 5.21 million visits since March, up 22.69 percent from last year. During the three-day Qingming Festival between April 4 and 6, the East Lake scenic site received nearly 1.17 million visits, up 25.58 percent from 2024.
China has had the tradition of flower viewing since ancient times. It is believed that people from as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907) had already formed the habit of going to the city outskirts with friends and family to appreciate the flowers and worship the floral fairies. Many poets have left masterpieces eulogizing spring flowers. –Agencies
