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Peak time for plum blossoms and art festival on Mt Chao
By Xu Wenwen |
March 2, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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AS winter turns into spring, more than 100,000 plum trees are blossoming all over Mt Chao in Yuhang District, turning the landscape in what is known as the "fragrant white ocean."
This is the best time to appreciate the blossoms, which are also pink and deep red.
The Second Mt Chao Plum Blossom Festival opened last week and will last through March 15. It features a series of plum blossom art exhibitions, including painting, photography and bonsai.
Plum trees typically blossom in late winter, January or February, and plum blossoms that unfold even in the snow are harbingers of spring.
The charm of the trees is not only the blossoms, each 1-3cm in diameter, but also in the gnarled trunks and bold shape of the branches, typical subjects of Chinese painting.
Mt Chao in northeast Hangzhou is one of the three traditional places to appreciate plum blossoms in Jiangnan, the region south of the Yangzte River.
The plum trees on Mt Chao are famous for their striking shapes and the mountain is the home to two of the five plum trees in ancient China: Tangmei planted in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and Songmei planted in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
The two trees are flourishing. Tangmei flowers are in buds and Songmei's blossoms are open.
Mt Chao's plum blossoms are distinctive; each flower has six petals, while most plum blossoms elsewhere have five petals.
The white plum blossoms on Mt Chao are compared with snowflakes and the clouds of blossoms are called the "fragrant snow ocean."
In 2008 the city government enlarged and renovated the plum tree scenic area, planting 30,000 plum trees at a cost of 1.36 billion yuan (US$198 million). The area has been expanded from 20 to 53 hectares.
Around 4,000 of the new trees are white plum blossoms planted in the newly opened East Park to ensure the "fragrant snow ocean."
As plum trees blossom for 17 to 35 days, the scenic area has planted more than 200 varieties with different blooming dates to ensure that blossoms can be appreciated for two months. Many of the hardy blossoms can withstand rain.
Plum blossoms are beloved both as a symbol of winter and a harbinger of spring, as the blossoms bloom vigorously in the snow, while most other plants are bare and before many other blossoms appear.
The blossoms are also a symbol of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity and have been used as a metaphor for revolutionary struggle.
Since they blossom in winter, the trees are one of the "three friends of the cold," along with pine and bamboo. The blossoms are one of the "four gentlemen of flowers" in Chinese art, along with orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo, and are said to symbolize nobility.
How to get there: Take Buses No. 338 (at Wulin Men stop), 509, 309 or 339 (at Genshan Liushui Yuan stop) to Linpin stop. Change to No. 319 to Mt Chao stop.
This is the best time to appreciate the blossoms, which are also pink and deep red.
The Second Mt Chao Plum Blossom Festival opened last week and will last through March 15. It features a series of plum blossom art exhibitions, including painting, photography and bonsai.
Plum trees typically blossom in late winter, January or February, and plum blossoms that unfold even in the snow are harbingers of spring.
The charm of the trees is not only the blossoms, each 1-3cm in diameter, but also in the gnarled trunks and bold shape of the branches, typical subjects of Chinese painting.
Mt Chao in northeast Hangzhou is one of the three traditional places to appreciate plum blossoms in Jiangnan, the region south of the Yangzte River.
The plum trees on Mt Chao are famous for their striking shapes and the mountain is the home to two of the five plum trees in ancient China: Tangmei planted in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and Songmei planted in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
The two trees are flourishing. Tangmei flowers are in buds and Songmei's blossoms are open.
Mt Chao's plum blossoms are distinctive; each flower has six petals, while most plum blossoms elsewhere have five petals.
The white plum blossoms on Mt Chao are compared with snowflakes and the clouds of blossoms are called the "fragrant snow ocean."
In 2008 the city government enlarged and renovated the plum tree scenic area, planting 30,000 plum trees at a cost of 1.36 billion yuan (US$198 million). The area has been expanded from 20 to 53 hectares.
Around 4,000 of the new trees are white plum blossoms planted in the newly opened East Park to ensure the "fragrant snow ocean."
As plum trees blossom for 17 to 35 days, the scenic area has planted more than 200 varieties with different blooming dates to ensure that blossoms can be appreciated for two months. Many of the hardy blossoms can withstand rain.
Plum blossoms are beloved both as a symbol of winter and a harbinger of spring, as the blossoms bloom vigorously in the snow, while most other plants are bare and before many other blossoms appear.
The blossoms are also a symbol of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity and have been used as a metaphor for revolutionary struggle.
Since they blossom in winter, the trees are one of the "three friends of the cold," along with pine and bamboo. The blossoms are one of the "four gentlemen of flowers" in Chinese art, along with orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo, and are said to symbolize nobility.
How to get there: Take Buses No. 338 (at Wulin Men stop), 509, 309 or 339 (at Genshan Liushui Yuan stop) to Linpin stop. Change to No. 319 to Mt Chao stop.
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