Guizhou's petal power gears up in spring
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E-mail China Daily, April 21, 2016
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Breathtaking rapeseed blooms in Tongren, Guizhou province, draw visitors every spring. (Photo provided to China Daily) |
In spring, Guizhou's flowering fields lure visitors to fly kites and experience its ethnic culture.
Taiwan resident Ye Denggui visited the province's Tongren city for a kite competition in late March, and the 53-year-old was dazzled by Huashi village's 20,000-square-meter garden of red, pink, white, purple and yellow tulips.
"It's fun to fly a kite in the fresh air in such surroundings," he says.
Contestants came from China and 21 countries and regions, including the United States, Belgium and India.
The color blast will last until May.
Villagers planted tulip seedlings in December, and the tourism sector burst into bloom with them this spring. Weekend visitors have topped 5,000 since March.
The city has integrated its natural beauty and culture to bring in visitors, who explore the area's six centuries of history and natural splendors. They also pick fruits and bamboo shoots.
Meanwhile more locals are offering farmhouse stays to the growing number of visitors.
"We can also increase our incomes by introducing tourists to local rural food," says Huashi resident Tang Xuekui.
While tulips are a new addition to Tongren's flower power, its rapeseed blooms have drawn sightseers to Wawu village for years.
But Tongren is just the tip of Guizhou's booming tourism.
Guizhou and Zhejiang province's capital, Hangzhou, were the only two places in China The New York Times listed among its "52 places to go in 2016".
The province's spring scenery enticed 9.58 million visitors during the recent three-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, 30 percent more than during the same period last year.
Tourism income rose 32 percent to 4.9 billion yuan ($758 million).
Guizhou hosts a stunning natural beauty preserved in its karst formations, says the provincial tourism authority's deputy director, Tan Aiying.
And flowers make springtime the most magnificent season.
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