Flower festival blooms at Yuyuan to celebrate spring
Edited by Yang Jian. Subtitles by Yang Jian.
Citizens and tourists are invited to experience a traditional temple fair and celebration of the spring season at the Yuyuan Garden Malls.
Dining and shopping facilities near the historic garden, which originated from a prosperous market of the City God Temple some 140 years ago, launched a Spring Flower Festival over the weekend to promote traditional art and culture.
Themed on the "Gods and Goddesses of Flowers" who became popular in the mid-Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) through the famous Yangliuqing New Year's Painting, the traditional festival continues through April 28.
The Ming and Qing Dynasty structures at the malls have been decorated with flowers and illuminated by traditional lanterns at night. Bazaars with many small carts selling and exhibiting handicraft artworks have also been redesigned with colorful petals and twigs.
A foreign family pose with a giant flower installation at the Yuyuan Garden Malls.
In traditional Chinese culture, famous historical figures and literary giants are ennobled as gods or goddess of a certain flower. There are a dozen gods and goddess for the 12 lunar months, but the figures vary in different times and regions.
Yang Yuhuan (AD 719-756), one of the four great beauties of ancient China, for instance, is deemed the goddess of the apricot flower which blooms in February, while Xi Shi, another beauty, is the goddess of lotus for June. Famous poets such as Li Bai (AD 701-762), Bai Juyi (AD 772-846) and Tao Yuanming (AD 365-427) are also listed as gods of flowers in some versions due to their popular poems about flowers.
People in the Jiangnan, or the area south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, celebrated the Flower Festival at the Beginning of Spring from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). They went on spring outing, enjoyed blossoms, flew kites, painted the gods and goddesses of flowers and lighted flowers lanterns.
Customers in traditional hanfu costumes visit a bazaar during the flower festival.
The festival at the malls aims to restore these traditional celebrations and bring visitors back to the grand occasion in the history.
Chinoiserie performances and parades will be held every weekend. They include dancers in traditional hanfu clothing and concerts featuring traditional instruments on the iconic Zigzag Bridge.
Yuyuan has launched a campaign themed around the 24 solar terms to promote traditional culture while boosting consumption. The malls have attracted many citizens and tourists from both home and abroad as a strong sign of the city's economic recovery, according to the Yuyuan Inc, operator of the malls.
Tourists and citizens are invited to play various traditional games, learn heritage skills and visit time-honored stores, such as the more than 200-year-old Tonghanchun TCM pharmacy, Mid-Lake Pavilion teahouse, Wenchang Street and the Yuyuan Department Store in the six-story Tianyu Mansion, known as the tallest Ming and Qing Dynasty-style building in the city's old town.
Performances and parades are held every weekend through April 28 at the malls.
If you go:
Dates: Through April 28
Admission: Free
Venue: Yuyuan Garden Malls
Address: 265 Fangbang Road M.
方浜中路265号
Dancers in traditional costumes.
