A visitor snaps a photo of blossoming plums
with her mobile phone on Meihuashan Mountain, located in the
suburbs of Nanjing in eastern China's Jiangsu province on Monday,
February 26, 2007. The 11th International Nanjing Spring Plum
Festival welcomed its first visitors on Wednesday.
Nanjing on Wednesday kicked off its biggest-ever Plum Festival
and the trees on its hills and mountains were in full blossom
thanks to the warm weather this winter.
The 11th International Nanjing Spring Plum Festival will be held
at the Meihuashan Mountain until March 18, the Nanjing Tourism
Bureau said.
Visitors can view more than 230 varieties of plums and a total
of 1,500 plum trees when walking over the hill. The festival also
includes activities like plum culture exhibitions, float parades
and stage performances.
Many locals have already gone to enjoy the sight of plum
blossoms on other hills and mountains around the Jiangsu provincial
capital. The blossoms came out a week earlier this year because of
the warmer than usual winter.
During the festival, the price for a day of sightseeing at
Meihuashan Mountain is 30 yuan. And the opening time is from 6:30am
to 5:30pm.
Meihuashan Mountain is a small hill at Zhongshan Cemetery, the
site of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Tomb in Nanjing.
The area of planting of plum trees has been doubled compared
with former years. The organizers have also arranged more parking
areas to meet the needs of an increasing number of tourists.
Tour buses marked Line 1, 2 and 3, starting from Nanjing Railway
Station, can also take visitors to the hill.
Many of the guides speak English but the tourist agencies only
understand Chinese inquiries and reservations.
(Shanghai Daily March 1, 2007)
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