The 2018 Qingdao Flower Admiring Festival opened in grand style on April 17 at Zhongshan Park in Shinan district of Qingdao, Shandong province, just as the cherry flowers are embracing their florescence.

Zhongshan Park in Shinan district of Qingdao, Shandong province is flooded with tourists enjoying the superb cherry blossoms during the 2018 Qingdao Flower Appreciation Feast. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]   

Apart from admiring the stunning cherry blossoms, activities such as poetry recitations, free family photo sessions, and a qipao fashion show are also on offer to entertain tourists.

Jointly organized by the Shinan district government and the Qingdao bureau of parks and woods, the event, lasting from April to October, is divided into three phases according to the blossoming times of cherry trees, peonies and chrysanthemums, displaying over a longer period the vigor and vitality of Shinan district.

The event also recommends ten flower viewing spots at Zhongshan Park and three typical flower sightseeing routes in Shinan district for tourists.

Ten flower viewing spots:

1. Maple valley

2. Four-season scenic spot, a place to appreciate crabapples in spring, pomegranate blossoms in summer, maples in autumn and plum blossoms in winter

3. Peony garden

4. Peony pavilion, in front of which two centuries-old peonies are planted.

5. Cherry blossom avenue, one of the "Ten Famous Scenes in Qingdao"

6. Yulan garden lawn, a place to admire magnolia flowers

7. The little west lake with lotus, pavilion, corridor and zigzag bridge

8. Lotus pond

9. Sunwen lotus pond (Sunwen refers to the great revolutionary pioneer and founder of the Republic of China Sun Yat-sen)

10. Guihua (osmanthus) garden

Three flower sightseeing routes:

1. Badaguan Scenic Area → Shaoguan Road (with peach blossom) → Princess Building → The Sung’s Garden → Linhuaiguan Road (with peony and rosa chinensis) → Ningwuguan Road (with crabapple) → Garden on Zijingguan Road → Qingdao Flower Stone Building → Taipingjiao Road → Qingdao Geological Museum → Taipingjiao Park (with peach blossom)

2. Xiaoyu Mountain (with michelia alba) → Yushan campus of Ocean University of China (with ancient cherry tree) → Daxue Road (with oriental plane) → Rickshaw Boy Museum (with centuries-old gingko trees and phoenix trees) → Xinhao Mountain (with a distant view of flower scenes in the urban area)

3. Qingdao Haitao Park → Donghai West Road (with michelia alba and cherry blossom) → Hongkong Middle Road (with North American Begonia) → Zhuhai Road (with michelia alba) → Sanming South Road (with cherry blossom)