At this time, the city is covered by another kind of "snow" - plum blossom. Below we will introduce the places for enjoying plum blossom in Beijing.
Ming City Wall Ruins Park
The optimum period for appreciating plum blossoms here lasts from mid-March to mid-April. The annual Plum Blossom Festival kicked off on March 9 and brings forth dozen of plum blossoms in red, white, green, pink and other colors. They add brilliance to vicissitudinary city walls, picturing distinctive sceneries like “Spring Dawn of Ancient City”, “Sea of Flowers” and “Western Mountain Diffused with Flowers Fragrance”.
Located in downtown Beijing, the Ming City Wall Ruins Park spans from Southeastern Corner Tower on the east to Chongwenmen on the west. Over 580 years have passed since the 17th year of Yongle (1419 AD), when the construction the 40 kilometers long wall started. Between Southeastern Corner Tower and Chongwenmen, the 1.5 kilometers relics used to be a part of the inner wall of Beijing and now serve as the symbol of the city. Built in the first year of Zhengtong (1436 AD), Southeastern Corner Tower is the largest corner tower of the city wall in current China and a major historical and cultural site protected at the national level.
Ticket price: free (Ming City Wall); 10 yuan for adult, 5 yuan for student
Address: No. 9 Chongwenmen East Avenue, Dongcheng District东城区崇文门东大街9号
Route: take Subway Line 2 and get off at Chongwenmen Station.
Fragrant Hills Park
Flowers in plum valley of Fragrant Hills Park are bursting into gorgeous bloom. Visitors can find plum, apricot, magnolia, and other blossoms at the valley. In addition to the valley, visitors can admire plum blossoms in Biyun Temple in the park as well. At this time of every year, the strong fragrance from the valley can spread to where be tens of meters away.
Ticket price: 10 yuan from Apr 1 to Nov 15, 5 yuan from Nov 16 to Mar 31
Address: Fragrant Hills Park, Biyunsi Road, Haidian District 海淀区碧云寺路香山公园
Route: take Bus 318, 331, 360, 634, 696, 698, 714 in the downtown area and get off at Fragrant Hills Park.
Beijing Zhongshan Park
As flowers start to bloom in early spring, Zhongshan Park turned into an ocean of pink blossoms. White or pink petals on vigorous branches are suitable for photographers with using macro lens. The royal garden is now fully covered with pink and white plum blossoms, creating a vibrant spring scene and filling the air with sweet fragrance. Inside the park there are also orchids planted in the 1960s as well as famous flower species like midget crabapples and peonies.
The Zhongshan Park was formerly known as the Zhongyang (Central) Park, being the first public garden in Beijing. With convenient location and picturesque scenery, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Beijing.
Ticket price: 3 yuan
Address: No.4 Zhonghua Road (west of Tian'anmen Square), Dongcheng District, Beijing 北京市东城区中华路4号(天安门西侧)
Beijing Jiufeng International Plum Blossom Garden
It is known as the “Holy Land for Enjoying Plum Blossom” with the most complete varieties of plum blossom in Haidian District. The garden covers an area of more than 1,000 square meters, and holds nearly 400 plum blossom trees of 8 species and over 30 varieties.
Beijing Jiufeng National Forest Park is one of the nearest national forest parks to Beijing. The Beijing International Plum Blossom Garden in the park is the first botanical garden in the world which showcases international registration species in a concentrated manner.
The greenhouse of plum blossom covers an area of 1,200 square meters, and mainly cultivates plum blossom varieties which cannot live through the winter in open air in Beijing. After nearly ten years of introduction and cultivation, at present, more than 300 plum blossom trees including 3 phylads, 8 species and 32 varieties have been successfully planted in the greenhouse of the Plum Blossom Garden.
Ticket price: 15 yuan in peak season, 10 yuan in off-season
Address: Jiufeng National Forest Park, No. 5, Xiufeng Temple Road, Sujiatuo Town, Haidian District海淀区苏家坨镇秀峰寺路5号北京鹫峰国家森林公园
