Adoring a Traditional Flower: Chrysanthemum Exhibitions Attract Tourists Across China

A visitor takes photos of chrysanthemums.

Artists paint or write calligraphy beside pots of chrysanthemums.

Visitors look around potted chrysanthemums in a botanical garden.

Visitors take selfies with chrysanthemums.

Kids pose in front of potted chrysanthemums.

Yellow chrysanthemum variety

Every fall, botanical gardens in China hold exhibitions featuring one of its traditional flowers, the chrysanthemum. These exhibitions allow visitors to adore hundreds of the flower's varities, and those artistic ones can paint them or write calligraphy if the park has set up a special area for painting enthusiasts.

Urumqi Botanical Garden started its 19th Chrysanthemum Art Exhibition with a theme of "The Autumn Silk Road," displaying over 70,000 pots of varied chrysanthemum and attracting visitors doubling the number last year.

Taiyuan, capital of West China's Shanxi Province, also held its 25th Chrysanthemum Art Exhibition in late September, displaying over 200 different varieties and 200,000 pots of chrysanthemum.