Exploring China’s spring destinations
Updated: 2013-03-26 11:14
By Zhang Zixuan (China Daily)
|
||||||||
The arrival of the traditional Chinese Tomb-sweeping Day also marks the highpoint of the spring season. People hold memorial ceremonies for their ancestors and deceased family members, and venture outside to embrace nature as a good sign for a better life on the horizon. This is why the day is also referred to as Taqing, which means “hiking in green.”
It is also the best season to enjoy the beauty of the new flowers in bloom. The kingly peony, the golden cole flower, the elegant cherry blossom and many others bloom throughout China. The cultural surroundings also add greater joy when walking through an ocean of flowers.
Peony in Luoyang, Henan province
Peony has been favored by Chinese people for more than 1,500 years since the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907). Millions of tourists come to Henan’s Luoyang in spring just to get a glimpse of the regal flower. The city of Luoyang is filled with 40 million peonies of 1,000 different species, which are scattered among more than 10 scenic areas such as Luoyang National Peony Park, China National Flower Park and Suitang Arboretum.
If you go:
There are various products made by the peony flower that are worth buying, such as peony wine, peony essential oil and peony tea. - Try the traditional Luoyang Water Banquet, which is composed of 24 soup dishes with a varied assortment of flavors. - Pay a visit to the world-famous Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, which features 2,345 caves with some 100,000 Buddha statues. - The legendary Shaolin Monastery is just 49 kilometers from Luoyang.
- 'Taken 2' grabs movie box office crown
- Rihanna's 'Diamonds' tops UK pop chart
- Fans get look at vintage Rolling Stones
- Celebrities attend Power of Women event
- Ang Lee breaks 'every rule' to make unlikely new Life of Pi film
- Rihanna almost thrown out of nightclub
- 'Dark Knight' wins weekend box office
- 'Total Recall' stars gather in Beverly Hills
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
American abroad |
Industry savior: Big boys' toys |
New commissioner
|
Liaoning: China's oceangoing giant |
TCM - Keeping healthy in Chinese way |
Poultry industry under pressure |
Today's Top News
Boston bombing suspect reported cornered on boat
7.0-magnitude quake hits Sichuan
Cross-talk artist helps to spread the word
'Green' awareness levels drop in Beijing
Palace Museum spruces up
First couple on Time's list of most influential
H7N9 flu transmission studied
Trading channels 'need to broaden'
US Weekly
Beyond Yao
|
Money power |