Thursday, 13 April 2017

5th Jinshanling Apricot Flower Festival kicks off in Chengde

Apricot blossoms decorate the
Jinshanling Great Wall in springtime.
[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The annual Jinshangling Apricot Flower Festival kicked off at Luanping county, Chengde city in North China's Hebei province on April 3, using the theme "Dating with Flowers in Chengde, Appreciating Spring Scenery at the Great Wall".

The opening ceremony was held at the foot of the Jinshanling Great Wall, an original and essential section of the Great Wall. To welcome flocking tourists from China and abroad, the opening ceremony consisted of a qipao fashion show, apricot flower appreciation and a Lunhua night show.

The 2017 Apricot Flower Festival will last about four weeks and will include several events in addition to the grand opening ceremony. For example, 1,000 Tai Chi lovers will do Tai Chi on the Great Wall, 1,000 soon-to-be spouses will have a special wedding in accordance with Man ethnic group's customs and an international marathon competition will be held.

Located in a mountainous region and about 140 kilometers northeast of Beijing, the Jinshanling Great Wall section is the best preserved part of the Great Wall from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), maintaining several original features.

The General Tower, Black Tower and Taochun Tower are must-sees at the Jinshanling Great Wall. Each tower contains its own legend. The General Tower was created to commemorate Wu Guihua, a heroine who sacrificed herself to resist invasions from the north during the Ming Dynasty. The Black Tower and Taochun Tower were christened to commemorate two girls, Heigu and Taochun, who also made great contributions to the construction of the Great Wall.

An apricot tree droops over the
Jinshanling Great Wall in spring.
[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Luanping county enjoys rich cultural and tourism resources, and thanks to the 2017 Hebei Provincial Tourism Development Conference in Chengde, Luanping can take advantage of the opportunity to diversify its tourism industry while striving to become one of most attractive tourism leisure destinations in the province.


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