TAIYUAN, April 1 (Xinhua) — In Yuncheng City, north China’s Shanxi Province, newly launched travel routes along blooming flower fields are gaining steam among tourists, energizing its historical attractions as spring fragrances fill the air.
“My family and I followed the route to visit the cherry blossom garden and the Guanque Tower in Yongji County, as it is the perfect season for flower viewing in Yuncheng,” said Zhao Yuxiang, a local resident, adding that he plans to take several road trips to fully explore the city’s spring glamour.
As temperatures rise across China, flowering landscapes in both urban and rural areas are revitalizing the tourism market, creating fresh opportunities for visitor experiences.
Driven by innovative projects and optimized policy support, a booming flower economy has gradually taken shape, unleashing sustained momentum for seasonal consumption and economic activity.
According to Yuncheng’s culture and tourism authorities, the new travel routes comprise five dedicated itineraries spanning the full blooming season from March to May. These routes are carefully designed to connect the city’s flowering landscapes with its key attractions, including Pujiu Temple, Guanque Tower and the scenic Yellow River scenery.
Boasting many nationally protected cultural heritage sites, Yuncheng expects to further vitalize its time-enduring charm with seasonal scenery with a one-stop spring tourism experience, as visitor numbers are on the rise, the authorities said.
During the blooming season, many regions across China have introduced new tourism experiences, transforming traditional spring outings into diversified cultural consumption activities.
In Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province, a unique “hotpot in the sea of flowers” project is becoming popular among visitors.
Tourists can enjoy local hotpot while surrounded by more than 100,000 mu (about 6,667 hectares) of blooming rapeseed flowers, with ingredients such as fresh rapeseed sprouts and honey produced from the blossoms adding a unique flavor to the meal.
Meanwhile, Nanjing in east China’s Jiangsu Province has introduced a “flowers plus” all-day tourism program, encouraging thousands of visitors to dive deeper into a variety of cultural and leisure activities beyond sightseeing.
These traveling innovations have spurred a tourism surge nationwide.
Fliggy, a major Chinese online travel service platform, reported that search volumes for keywords such as “spring outing,” “flower viewing,” and “spring travel” surged by 380 percent month on month.
In addition, a growing industrial chain centered on flower-viewing tourism is also taking shape, ranging from picking fresh spring tea, tasting seasonal dishes to enjoying rural cultures and gardening experiences.
Amid the flower economy boom, provinces across China have rolled out supportive policies to unleash their consumption potential.
In March, south China’s Guangdong Province issued a 20-million-yuan (about 2.89 million U.S. dollars) voucher bundle, covering accommodation and scenic area expenses, to attract visitors from other regions. This is echoed by provinces including east China’s Fujian, central China’s Henan, Hubei and southwest China’s Yunnan.
On a broader scope, primary and secondary school students in several Chinese regions are set for their first-ever spring break, which is viewed as the nation’s latest initiative to facilitate family travel and cultural spending.
China is ramping up efforts to stimulate domestic consumption for economic growth. This year’s government work report called for efforts to develop a number of new, high-profile consumption scenarios with broad appeal, and move faster to nurture new areas of consumption growth.
Pang Zhiyong, an expert with the Chinese Society for Horticultural Science, said China’s blooming flower economy demonstrates its strong economic vitality at the start of the year.
With continued policy support and technological innovation, the sector is expected to unlock further growth potential, he added. ■
