Recommended flower-viewing routes along the Central Axis, including flower-viewing guides for 111 Beijing parks!

The Qingming Festival holiday is coming soon. Have you made holiday plans?

April in Beijing is colorful, with magnolias, cherry blossoms, crabapples and other flowers blooming one after another, making people dazzled. Spring is in full bloom, so why not invite a few friends to go outing and enjoy the flowers? Among so many parks and attractions, which ones are good places for spring outings?

Don’t worry, the editor has compiled several flower-viewing routes for you. Today, let’s start from Beijing Science Center and start a flower-viewing trip along the central axis of Beijing to feel the romantic spring in Beijing~

1

Heading north, enjoy the crabapple blossoms and visit the Olympic Forest Park

Starting from Beijing Science Center and heading north, not far away is the best spot for viewing crabapples: Yuan Dadu City Wall Ruins Park. The park starts from Shaoyaoju in the east, ends at Xitucheng in the west, and then goes south to Mingguang Bridge. It is a long strip park with a total length of about 9 kilometers.

The "Begonia Stream" is one of the ten scenic spots in the Yuan Dynasty Capital City Wall Ruins Park and is the main place for viewing crabapples. Nearly 2,000 crabapple trees of various varieties, including the Western Palace Crabapple, the Stem Crabapple, the Golden Star Crabapple, and the Weeping Crabapple, are planted here.

Every April, crabapples bloom by the moat. The petals fall on the water and float downstream, turning the moat into a veritable "Candada Blossom Stream".

Attractions: Yuan Dadu City Wall Ruins Park

Flower viewing: Begonia (April)

Continue northward along Beijing’s central axis from the Yuan Dynasty Capital City Ruins Park. At the northernmost end of the extended central axis is the largest green space in downtown Beijing and the largest urban green landscape in Asia - the Olympic Forest Park.

The South and North Gardens of the Olympic Forest Park cover a total area of ​​about 680 hectares, with a very rich variety of plants. There are also many flowers to enjoy in the spring, such as mountain peach, pink peach, elm leaf plum, forsythia, magnolia, crabapple, lilac, etc.

In the North Garden, hundreds of peach trees are in full bloom along a winding ecological river, with peach blossoms as bright as clouds and graceful in appearance. During the Qingming Festival, this is a good place to enjoy peach blossoms.

Attractions: Olympic Forest Park

Flower viewing: peach blossom (April), elmleaf plum (March-April), magnolia (March-April), crabapple (April), lilac (April), etc.

2

Turn south and visit the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven

Let's turn south along the central axis. Jingshan Park to the north of the Forbidden City is also a highly recommended flower viewing spot. Jingshan Park is located at the center of the north-south central axis of Beijing's inner city. It was once the imperial palace back garden of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, and was also the highest point in Beijing. Standing on the top of the mountain, you can see the magnificent Forbidden City and the modern new look of Beijing.

There are tens of thousands of peonies and herbaceous peonies in Jingshan Park. Compared with the graceful peony, the herbaceous peonies bloom a little later. Ancient people rated the peony as the first and the herbaceous peonies as the second, so they called the peony the king of flowers and the herbaceous peonies the flower phase. Because it blooms later, the herbaceous peonies are also called "Palace Spring". Although not as gorgeous as the peony, the delicate and beautiful herbaceous peonies are also beautiful flowers that must be appreciated in late spring.

Attractions: Jingshan Park

Flower viewing: Peony (late April to early May), Peony (April to May), Apricot blossom (March to April), etc.

Going down the hill from Jingshan Park to the south, you will reach the Forbidden City, a great place for flower viewing. The flowers in the Forbidden City bear witness to the changes of this imperial city over hundreds of years. "Only the peony is the true national color, and the capital is moved when it blooms." The elegance and luxury of the peony have been the best flowers that people have admired for thousands of years.

In addition to the peonies in the Cining Palace, the crabapples in the Wenhua Hall, the pear blossoms in the Chengqian Palace and other flower-viewing spots in the Forbidden City are also worth seeing.

Attractions: Forbidden City

Flower viewing: Peony (late April to early May), Begonia (April), Pear Blossom (April to May), etc.

Zhongshan Park outside the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City is a great place to enjoy tulips.

The tulips in Zhongshan Park were introduced in 1977. When the Dutch princess visited my country, she presented 39 varieties of tulips. Since then, this beautiful herb has taken root in Zhongshan Park. The Qingming Festival is a little early for the tulips to bloom, but after mid-April, this "golden red sunset" is still worth appreciating.

Attractions: Zhongshan Park

Flower viewing: tulips (mid-April to early May), peonies (late April to early May), plum blossoms (mid-March to early April), etc.

The magnolias are in full bloom in the spring along Chang'an Avenue, but their flowering period is relatively short, only about ten days. Magnolias belong to the Magnoliaceae family and are deciduous trees. This type of plant appeared as early as the Cretaceous period. Magnolias are common flowering trees in early spring in my country and are planted in many places in Beijing.

Source: pexels

Attractions: Chang'an Avenue

Flower viewing: Magnolia (March-April)

Continuing south, the apricot blossoms in full bloom in the Temple of Heaven Park are gorgeous and charming, and the petals falling like flying snowflakes.

If you lower your perspective, you can see clusters of inconspicuous blue-purple flowers on the ground - February orchids. According to legend, when Zhuge Liang was on the Northern Expedition, there was a shortage of food and grass. The soldiers found that the tender stems of this flower could satisfy their hunger and also be used as feed for war horses, so Zhuge Liang ordered its widespread planting, and this small flower was named "Zhugecai".

Source: Wikipedia

Attractions: Temple of Heaven Park

Flower viewing: apricot blossoms (March-April), February orchids (late March-late April), etc.

Today's flower-viewing recommendations end here. "When you know the east wind, you will see the spring in all its glory." Spring is in full bloom, and every corner of Beijing has flowers in full bloom, waiting for you to experience their vigorous vitality.

If you still feel that you are not satisfied, there are more than 100 flower viewing areas in Beijing parks this year waiting for you to discover beautiful flowers! Finally, I wish you all a wonderful holiday~

Source: Capital Landscaping