In bloom: The Chinese flower festivals you have to visit

China is a great place to view so many natural wonders, especially when it comes to flowers. China’s national flower may be the plum blossom but each month offers the chance to see plenty more beautiful blooms.

From autumn’s chrysanthemum and winter’s peonies to spring’s orchids and summer’s lilacs, you’ll be able to see the most stunning flowers across its villages, towns, and cities. China’s flower festivals provide a great opportunity to view several striking flower varieties in one place. Here we offer our rundown of the best flower festivals that China has to offer.

Luoyang Peony Festival

As we mentioned China’s national flower is the plum blossom, which was designated back in 1964. The peony, however, was a very close second thanks to its beauty and links to prosperity and nobility. This might be the reason why the Luoyang Peony Festival is so popular with tourists and locals alike.  

CITS reveals more about what to expect from one of the biggest flower festivals around, which is held annually at the National Flower Garden in a city known as the birthplace of this famous flower:

“It stands out from other gardens for the various sorts, long fluorescence and more gorgeous flowers. China National Flower Garden cultivates about 500,000 peonies in 9 colours, as well as a further 2,000,000 plants of 1,000 different species. Among them, a huge peony called “Flower Goddess”, with an age of 100 years and a height of 2 meters (7 feet) gains public attention.”

Luoyang Peony Festival takes place every April, the blooming time for hundreds of peony varieties. The festival’s most famous flower, however, is the 1,600-year-old, 3-metre-high ‘peony king’.

Flower Culture Festival

China is well known for its cherry blossoms. As such, cherry blossom season is a peak time for tourism. The most prominent blossom festival is the Shanghai Cherry Blossom Festival, but this is just one of the many occasions celebrating this magnificent annual bloom.

The Flower Culture Festival in Zhongshan Park is an excellent place and time to view 60 types of mountain peach blossoms. The timing of the festival coincides with the flowering of the blossoms towards the end of March. The flowering blossoms can be viewed against a backdrop of lush forest and clear blue skies, which makes for a majestic spectacle.

Pingu Peach Blossom Festival

If you’d like to view blooming blossom trees in their natural habitat, visit Pingu Peach Blossom Festival. The orchard spans almost 15,000 hectares and consists of some 600,000 trees. Attending the festival is a fantastic way to celebrate spring and view a strikingly colourful scene on your China trip.

The orchard has another purpose too. As well as looking beautiful, more than 300,000 tons of peaches are harvested here every year. The festival consists of several smaller events, which run through April and May. The itinerary is designed to correspond with the annual blossoming so check a little closer to spring for the official line-up.

Kaifeng Chrysanthemum Festival

View over 1,300 varieties of another famous flower at Kaifeng Chrysanthemum Festival. The festival started in 1983 and has been held every October since in China’s Henan province. In addition to viewing countless shapes, sizes, styles, and colours of chrysanthemum, the festival is bursting with culture with numerous events providing a deeper understanding of the region’s great heritage and China’s love of chrysanthemums. Kaifeng Chrysanthemum Festival takes place at the city’s Dragon Park and lasts for an entire month.

With some careful planning, a visit to Kaifeng Chrysanthemum Festival could see you enjoy China’s Mid-Autumn celebration, which is considered the ultimate harvest festival.

Whichever flower festival you want to visit, let us help you organise your trip of a lifetime. Contact our team today to get started.