THIS SPRING, SLOW DOWN AND SMELL THE FLOWERS

Flower tours have become an increasingly popular option for people who want to take part in more leisurely activities this spring.

Rapeseed, cherry and peach blossoms are just some of the notable flowers that can be seen all over the country this spring. While enjoying the flora and fauna, sightseers are taking advantage of the outdoors to go on cultural trips, camp, exercise or allow their children to participate in nature classes.

Zheng Nan, a 35-year-old Beijing resident who works in public relations, said she likes jogging amid the flowers in parks.

Zheng said she is not an indoors person and enjoys spending time in nature. She marks the blossom dates for different flowers on her calendar to remind herself to make appointments with friends to go sightseeing.

For example, she keeps in mind that March and April are generally the best months to view peach and apricot blossoms and magnolia flowers in the capital. In March in particular, she likes to go to Beihai Park downtown to enjoy the scent of the wintersweet that grows there.

"It doesn't smell like food or perfume, but uniquely good. One can only appreciate the experience if one goes there in person," she said.

"Last time, I picked one of the flowers and kept it in a book to retain the scent."

Zheng prefers to choose a place closer to home to see flowers instead of looking for a fancy site in the suburbs or in other provinces.

"Nature is around us. It's not something that requires us to prepare for a long journey to appreciate it," she said. "I can drive to Olympic Forest Park in 10 minutes to go jogging. As a human being, I am part of the natural world, just like trees, grass and flowers. We are real living creatures, not artificial intelligence," she said.

Zheng used to work for an internet company, where she usually worked on weekends and was required to stay in the office for hours.

"Those who work overtime don't have the energy to play," she said. "Many of them just want to rest in their spare time."

Like Zheng, many other people nationwide just want to take some time to smell the roses. Data from travel agencies showed that demand for flower tours surged as soon as March arrived.

A report released last month by Qunar, an online travel agency based in Beijing, said during the first week of the month, the number of bookings for such tours was 1.5 times higher than the same period last year.

This year's flower viewings will be dominated by local tours, and demand for private and tailor-made tours has increased because of the COVID-19 epidemic, the agency's report said.

Zou Qingling, CEO of Lvmama, an online travel agency, said outbreaks nationwide have led people to choose local tours, but they are enriching their experiences in other ways.

"Instead of merely viewing flowers, they're spending nights in homestays to taste local dishes, do parent-child activities and go camping," she said.

According to Zou, some popular activities combined with flower-viewing over the past two years include taking road trips, studying local history, trying local foods, learning about farming, dressing up in traditional clothing and fruit picking.

TravelGo, another online travel agency, said in its report last month that rural-themed flower tours have been popular among primary and middle school students, as their schools tend to let them study and play in nature.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of young tourists have found a new way to enjoy flowers－going sightseeing at night.

In the Fujiabian scenic spot in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, lights outline the beauty of plum blossoms. And in Beijing's Yuyuantan Park, tourists can pose for photos around flowers at night to avoid the crowds during the day, TravelGo said in the report.

Cheng Si contributed to this story.