Weekend Explorer: Flower festivals around Beijing
Go beyond the occasional spring blossoms on the street and seek out the most gorgeous foliage around town painstakingly landscaped by these parks around Beijing. These are some of the top flower festivals in the city to find blossoms in bloom, or buds just about to stretch those lovely petals out. Make sure your phones, cameras and powerbanks are fully charged; you're going to be taking a lot of photos.
8th Flower Culture Festival 中山公园第八届梅兰文化节
Image: courtesy of Zhongshan Park's WeChat account
Zhongshan Park is celebrating its 8th Flower Culture Festival, with more than 60 kinds of mountain peach blossoms flowering majestically on the southwest side of the park. Snap away as you take in the view of the gorgeous hillside blooms amidst a backdrop of sturdy cypress trees and (hopefully) lovely blue skies. According to Zhongshan Park's official WeChat account, there's a high probability that 90 percent of these flowers are going to be blooming by the end of March. More information (in Chinese) and photos here.
Zhongshan Park. 4 Zhonghua Lu, Dongcheng district (6605 5431; WeChat: bjszsgy). 东城区中华路4号. Open 6.30am-8.30pm daily. 3RMB
31st Peach Blossom Festival 北京植物园第31届桃花节
Image: courtesy of Beijing Botanical Garden's WeChat account
The Beijing Botanical Garden's 31st peach blossom festival and the 16th World Famous Flower exhibition (16届世界名花展) are already attracting crowds with its wondrous blooms. Jump into what could be a scene straight out of traditional Chinese paintings by heading straight to Nanhu or South Lake and take in the view of the lake and the foliage. With about a hundred species and more than a million flowers broken down into themes within the park, it's easy to get lost. But there's no better place to wander around then now, when the gardens are in bloom.
Image: courtesy of Beijing Botanical Garden' WeChat account
Other tickets prices within the park are:
Greenhouse: 50RMB for adults; 25RMB for students
Temple of the Reclining Buddha: 5RMB adults and 2.5RMB for students
Entrance, greenhouse and temple: 50RMB for adults; 25RMB for students
More information (in Chinese) and photos here.
Beijing Botanical Gardens. Wofosi Lu, Xiangshan, Haidian district (6259 1283; WeChat: beijingzhiwuyuan). 海淀区香山卧佛寺路 Open 7am-5pm daily. 10RMB for adults/5RMB for students and elderly. Free for kids under 1.2m.
31st Cherry Blossoms Culture Festival 玉渊潭公园第31届樱花文化活动
Image: courtesy of Yuyuantan WeChat account
The park's 31st Cherry Blossoms Culture Festival is now in full swing, along with the park's first-ever Lupine Festival. This year, the park has also teamed up with Huawei and Beijing Mobile for guests to easily use 5G so you could possibly upload those selfies to your moments in a flash. Hate crowds? Come early in the morning and avoid going during the weekends and holidays – your first warning of hordes of sightseers are the tourist buses lined up outside the park.
More information (in Chinese) and photos here.
Yuyuantan Park. 10 Xi Sanhuan Zhong Lu, Haidian district (8865 3800; WeChat: yytpark) 北京市海淀区西三环中路10号. Open 7am-9pm daily. 10RMB for adults; 5RMB for students and elderly.
Beijing International Flower Port's Tulip Festival 第十届北京郁金香文化节
Image: courtesy of WeChat official account
The 10th International Tulips festival is kicking off on April 5 and will last until May 6. This ocean of tulips comprises of 130 varieties though we're not sure if, other than their colours, if we can spot the difference! More than just pretty flowers, the park is also spicing it up with floral pieces and sculpted landscapes that'll keep the kids entertained for the rest of the day.
More information (in Chinese) and photos here.
Beijing International Flower Port. 9 Xianhuagang Nan Lu, Shunyi district (6141 7123). 北京国际鲜花港. 顺义区鲜花港南路9号 Open 9am-5pm daily. 80RMB/adults; 60RMB kids/elderly.
Olympic Park's 8th flower season 第八届奥林匹克森林公园花卉观赏季
Image: courtesy of WeChat official account
Fancy a jog under spring foliage? Head over to Asia's largest urban greening landscape where you can exercise while enjoying the vibrancy of nature. To the south of the park are flowers amidst large, natural landscapes while the north has blooms sprouting along picturesque streams and a small forest. More than 30 varieties of blooms including mountain peach, magnolias and forsythias await.
More information (in Chinese) and photos here.
Beijing Olympic Park. 15 Beichen Dong Lu, Chaoyang district (8499 2008; WeChat :gh_54bff7bf5ad3) 朝阳区北辰东路15号. Open 6am-9pm daily. Free.
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