Cheery cherry blossom vistas fuel holiday escapes

With vibrant spring days around and temperatures rising across China, the country is blooming with flowers, from cherry and peach blossoms to apricot and yellow cole petals, and Chinese travelers have shown a growing preference for taking flower-viewing trips both domestically and abroad.

For the upcoming Tomb Sweeping Day holiday from April 4 to 6, going for a walk and appreciating fields of flowers are popular undertakings, and booking tickets on high-speed railways, engaging in self-driving trips and cycling have become hot options for travelers. In particular, booking volumes for HSR journeys surged nearly sixfold year-on-year, according to Alibaba's travel platform Fliggy.

Viewing cherry blossoms tops the list of a variety of horticultural visual delights during the holiday this year. Wuhan University in Hubei province; Jiming Temple in Nanjing, Jiangsu province; and Taihu Lake in Wuxi, Jiangsu, stand out as sought-after attractions for cherry blossom appreciation tours, Fliggy found.