Song Yingwen

Rape blossoms in Yingde

The beauty of rape blossoms transformed the town of Yingde from a producer of rapeseed oil to a popular tourist attraction, first drawing photographers and then day-trippers keen to see the town’s 200 hectares of blossoming flowers.

The rape blossoms of Yingde may not be comparable to those in Luoping, Yunnan — home to the most famous rape blossoms in China — both in terms of acreage and quality of flowers, but they provide a satisfactory alternative to tourists who only have time for short trips. When in Yingde, visitors experience the joy of immersing themselves in a sea of yellow, which can be seen for two months from the beginning of March to April.

As the only scenic spot in Guangdong featuring rape blossoms, Yingde’s Shakou Township boasts sprawling farmland covered in golden rape stretches, forming a vast land of yellow buds and filling the air with the refreshing smell of spring. Take a casual walk in the fields — amid the waves of rape flowers moving in the gentle spring breeze, with traditional Hakka-style country buildings in the distance — and experience an idyllic bliss rarely felt elsewhere.

Apart from taking photos of the yellow rape blossoms, which costs 20 yuan per person, visitors can also explore history in Yingde. There you can find architecture from the Ming Dynasty standing side by side with centuries-old temples, stone bridges and ancient wells. You can also try to make Hakka tofu by yourself, or even grind oil and make wine.

Transport: Guangshen Expressway — Jingzhu Expressway — Yingfo Highway

Around 260 kilometers in total, or 3.5 hours’ drive from Shenzhen.

Accomodation: Cottages and hotels are available in Yingde, with rates ranging from 60 yuan to around 500 yuan per night.

Birdwood’s mucuna in Qingyuan

Apart from hot springs, a good reason to visit Qingyuan in spring is that it is the closest place to Shenzhen where visitors can find large numbers of birdwood’s mucuna blossoms, unique bird-shaped flowers that grow in subtropical zones and bloom only after growing for 30 years. You can find the flowers in Niuyuzui Forest Park, 10 kilometers east of downtown Qingyuan.

Besides the fact that birdwood’s mucuna blossoms can only be found on trees over 30 years old, the flower has a very short flowering period. It takes only two weeks for a birdwood’s mucuna blossom to finish the whole process from budding to falling. Late March to early April is the best time to see the flowers.

A kind of liana, a birdwood’s mucuna blossom looks like a sparrow. While a budding flower reminds people of a nestling, a birdwood’s mucuna in full blossom looks like a sparrow ready to flutter and soar high. When all the flowers are in full blossom, which is what a visitor may find in Niuyuzui now, the forest looks like a kingdom of birds.

Romantic people describe birdwood’s mucuna blossom as the only kind of flower that cries. Once the flower is scratched, blood-like liquid oozes from the wound and leaves marks like tears on the petal. Two hours after the blossom leaves the plant, the color turns to dark brown and resembles a sparrow even more.

Legends say that the flower was created by Li with the Iron Crutch, one of the legendary eight immortals who crossed the sea to the fairy island in Chinese folklores. Once during his visit to Guangdong, the immortal Li saw how peasants suffered from poverty because sparrows always destroyed crops. Using his magic power, he trapped the sparrows in forests with vines, allowing them to come out only in spring. After that, the unique flowers were found in forests in the neighborhood.

Apparently, Li with the Iron Crutch failed to get rid of the sparrows entirely, but he did leave the world a natural wonder. Every year, many Cantonese people go there to see the birdwood’s mucuna blossoms.

The fruits of the flower, also produced every 30 years, can be used as an ingredient to cook while the flowers can be used as medicine.

The forest is also a good place to watch leaves change color in autumn.

Transport: Guangshen Expressway — Guangzhou Bei’erhuan Expressway — Guangqing Expressway

Around 200 kilometers in total, or a drive of less than three hours.

Accomodation: There is a plenty choice of hotels available in Yingde.

THE Qingming Festival, also known as the Tomb Sweeping Festival that falls on April 4 this year, is now a public holiday. The festival, together with the following Saturday and Sunday, makes a long weekend that allows a short trip to neighboring areas to chase the messenger of spring — flowers. Here are some places in Guangdong where you can enjoy the beauty of spring blooms without traveling too far.