Right at home with flowers in Beijing

Yuyuantan Park is known for its cherry blossoms. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/China Daily]

"It's so great that I can admire the beautiful flowers as soon as I walk out of the elevator. Compared with parks, residential communities have fewer visitors and the atmosphere is more relaxed," says Shi Peifang, 62, a retired accountant.

She walks with her 3-year-old grandson every day in the alleys lined with flowers and trees near her home.

An Jin, 27, who works for an international company in Beijing, says: "You can sense the arrival of spring everywhere. Enjoying flowers in the place where you live is to find the beauty around you, and relax a bit and indulge in a moment of peace when you have time." Her mom loves to walk around the community to take photos of flowers.

Although An's home is only five minutes' walk from Yuyuantan, she never visits the park during the cherry-blossom season because it's crowded with sightseers and vendors.

During the three-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday from April 4 to 6, more than 1.9 million visits were made to the 11 municipal parks in the capital－100,000 more than officials expected, according to the Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks.

There were 222,000 visitors in these parks at 2 pm on April 5－the highest number ever recorded during the holiday.

The administration notes that early spring flowers, including cherry, apricot and peach blossoms, came into full blossom during the holiday, and the best time to enjoy late cherry and cloves has just started. Tulips and peonies will bloom soon.

According to 34-year-old Beijing botanist Shi Jun, it's good to see that the philosophy of building gardens and parks has evolved greatly in more than one decade.