Time to feast your eyes on flowers

March is the time that flowers tours begin to heat up in the city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. According to travel agencies in the area, many scenic spots in the city are crowded with visitors looking to catch a glimpse of the flowers, as the cherry blossoms from Japan and South Korea and tulips from Canada come into their prime blooming periods. The number of tourists making reservations for “flowers tours” in 2015 has grown by over 30 percent over the same period last year.

Enjoying the flowers at the doorstep

The Slender West Lake in the west suburb of Yangzhou is a sea of flowers in March and April. Among them, peach blossoms, winter jasmine, irises, begonia flowers and azaleas are the most popular and come into bloom mostly in April and May. In addition to these, there are also bleeding-hearts (herbaceous peonies). The place is popular with tourists coming to enjoy the flowers and often come in their droves. In 2015, 110,000 tulip bulbs were planted in the scenic spot.

Cherry blossoms are especially hot in 2015. The cherry blossoms in Wuhan University of Hubei province are highly recommended online. But for Yangzhou citizens, it is far from necessary to travel all the way to Wuhan. Cherry blossom in the Cherry Avenue and the Garden of Interests in Yangzhou have also come into bloom.

“The Herbaceous Peony Garden is crowded by people during the weekends. Many people come from the neighboring cities to enjoy the herbaceous peony here,” said a staff member from the Yizheng Zaolinwan Ecological Park. Now that the second season for enjoying the flowers has started, malus halliana, midget crabapple, common flowering quince and other Begonia flowers have all come into sight.

Around the Tomb Sweeping festival that falls on Apr 5 2015, rape flowers will be in full bloom. Jiangdu and Gaoyou districts are the most famous for rape flowers in Yangzhou. Lixiahe area in Gaoyou district was listed as one of the “ten famous scenic spots for enjoying the flowers in Jiangsu.” Xiaoji Town in Jiangdu, as well as Sanduo, Linze and Tangzhuang under the jurisdiction of Gaoyou are all places where rape flowers bloom densely.

Enjoying the flowers in the surrounding areas

“The most ornamental flowers in the neighboring cities in March include rape flowers, cherry blossoms, peach blossoms, azaleas and orchids,” said Wu Jun, general manager of the Hanjiang Branch of the China International Travel Service in Jiangsu.

Places for enjoying cherry blossoms include: Tortoise Head Garden Scenic Spot by Taihu Lake, Wuxi; Qionglong Mountain Scenic Spot in Suzhou; and Plum and Cherry Garden in Zhenjiang.

Places for enjoying peach blossoms: Wuxi Yangshan Mountain; the Peach Gully in Lianyungang; and Taohuawu in Huaian.

Places for enjoying azaleas: Suzhou Humble Administrator’s Garden; Xihui Park in Wuxi; and Yushan Mountain in Changshu.

Places for enjoying tulips: Wuxi Plum Garden; China Botanic Garden in Suzhou; and the Dutch Flowers in Dafeng, Yancheng.

Places for enjoying peonies: Biancang Town in Yancheng; Shanghu Scenic Spot in Changshu; and Shunfeng Garden in Taicang.

Place for enjoying rape flowers: Xinghua Qianduo Scenic Area in Taizhou.

Visitors can also enjoy rape flowers in Wuyuan, Jiangxi; magnolia flowers in Yaowang Valley; tulips in Baima Jian Park; peonies in Luoyang; and peach blossoms in Linzhi, Tibet.

Outbound flowers tours

A large number of people have also made reservations for outbound flowers tours in 2015. Japan is one such place where tourists have visited to see sakura trees, which have been blooming since the end of February. Kyoto, Nara and Tokyo have been favorite cities among tourists to enjoy sakura. Flowers tours to Japan have been extremely hot this year, with tourist group trips being completely sold out in March and only a few places left in April.

“The price for the ‘flower tours’ to Japan in 2015 has stayed at the same level as 2014, but the tourist flow has doubled,” said Wu Jun. “Due to the adjustment in the Japanese new visa policy and the reduction in the exchange rates, legions of Chinese tourists have chosen to travel in Japan,” he added. The number of Chinese tourists going to Japan to enjoy flowers in 2015 has grown significantly. Tourists making reservations for flowers tours to Japan in March and April have accounted for over 90 percent of the quota.

Cherry blossoms in South Korea have also entered their prime flowering period and due to its value for money, the country has also become a popular tourist destination among Chinese tourists.

Flowers tours to Europe and the U.S. have also experienced a rise in numbers. A Tulip Exhibition is being held in the world’s biggest tulip garden in Keukenhof Park in Netherlands Holland from March 20 to May 17. The recent decline of the Euro exchange rate has served as a stimulator in enticing more Chinese citizens to travel to Europe. “The fall in the Euro exchange rate leads to a reduction in ground costs. The prices for routine flowers tours in Europe this year fell by about 10 percent - about 1,000 yuan($161) cheaper than that in 2014,” said Wu.