Chuzhou Langya Mountain Spring Flower Appreciation Tips: This 1600 year old cultural mountain is not only a UN certified World Geopark, but also a must-see springtime destination in eastern China.
Bookmark this guide to start the aromatic journey “through the past and present”, and unlock the one-stop flower viewing, photography and cultural experience!
Plum Blossom: The Literati’s Millennium Invitation
Recommended Places: Drunken Master Pavilion, Wild Fang Garden, Langya Temple
The thousand-year-old “Ou Plum” by the Drunken Master Pavilion was planted by Ouyang Xiu, the great writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, and is still blooming in the place where he wrote “The Record of the Drunken Master Pavilion”. While enjoying the flowers, you may want to take a closer look at the remains of the goblet in the pavilion and the inscriptions of the past dynasties, and feel the elegance of the ancients’ “drinking and poems”. Other varieties such as red plums and wax plums are also opening in the mountains, and it seems that you can hear the echoes of history between the floating fragrance.
Spring flowers: golden invitation to the mountain gate
Recommended Location: Scenic Exit
Strings of small golden yellow flowers climbed all over the rocks, like a string of small bells swaying gently in the wind, with the most brilliant posture to greet every visitor.
Magnolia: a bright spring light by the ancient pavilion
Recommended locations: North Gate, Nofangen Post, Drunken Master Pavilion
The white magnolia and purple magnolia stand high on the branches, their petals like translucent lamps. When the petals float down on the nine curves of the flowing water, the lively scene of “The Records of Zuiweng Pavilion” is reproduced in a trance, in which “the cups of wine floated along the water, and all the people laughed and scrambled for them.
Cherry Blossoms: Pink Lines of Poetry Falling on an Old Road
Recommended places: Tongleyuan Ancient Road, Langya Temple
Recommended to come in mid-April, when the cherry blossoms like snow covering the green stone road, wearing Chinese dress and holding an umbrella strolling in it, a shot is an ancient style blockbuster. Pay special attention to the “peaks and turns” section, when the petal rain is the most fantastic.
Peony: the national color on top of the clouds
Recommended location: Nantianmen
As the highest flower on Langya Mountain, it is recommended to view it at sunrise or sunset: see the dewdrops glittering on the petals in the morning light, and enjoy the peonies in the twilight against the lights of the houses under the mountain, each of which has its own unique flavor.
Wisteria Zinnia: Flowing Purple Romance
Recommended places: Youxiang Valley, Drunken Master Pavilion
Hundred-year-old wisteria hangs like a waterfall on the corridors of ancient buildings, while zinnias look like a smoky haze wrapped around the branches. When you look down from a height, the sea of purple flowers forms a magnificent contrast with the verdant mountains and forests.
Tips for enjoying flowers on Mount Langya
Guidelines for the flowering period
- Early March: Plum blossoms, spring flowers
- Mid-April: Cherry blossoms, wisteria, peonies
- May: A sea of hosta chrysanthemums at the foot of the mountain
Cultural eggs
- Reading excerpts from “The Story of Drunken Master’s Pavilion” under the plum tree hand-planted by Ouyang Xiu
- Finding flower-related poems on ancient tablet inscriptions
Tips for taking photos
- Photographing Magnolia and Ancient Pavilion in Early Morning Mist
- Photographing Wisteria in backlight highlights the translucency of the petals
- Capturing Peonies and the City in the Same Frame with a Telephoto Lens at the South Heavenly Gate
Why is it worth making the trip?
This is not an ordinary sea of flowers – when you stand in front of the Drunken Master Pavilion, where Ouyang Xiu enjoys the plums, and touch the beams entwined with the thousand-year-old wisteria, you will find that every flower is impregnated with cultural imprints. From the poetry of the Tang and Song literati to the laughter of today’s tourists, Langya Mountain with blooming flowers strung across the time and space of the conversation.
Right now
The springtime is passing by, and the flowers are not waiting to bloom! Bring this guide to Langya Mountain to collect your “spring limited memories”.
