Springtime bolstering 'bloom

Blooming cherry blossoms attract tourists in Nantong,甘肃甘谷县新闻网 Jiangsu province during the Qingming Festival holiday. XINHUA

As spring arrives in the capital, a sense of fear of missing out on natural beauty grips residents eager to catch fleeting blooming flora.

From early March, mountain peach blossoms mark the start of the season, followed by magnolia, crab apple and lilac in quick succession, turning seasonal flora viewing into a tightly timed ritual.

At Sanlihe Park near Beijing's Qianmen area, mountain peach blossoms line the riverbanks, drawing crowds to nearby cafes to sip hot drinks while taking in the panoramic views. Long queues are common, with customers placing orders well in advance, while riverside seating beneath the blossoms remains highly sought after.

The scenes reflect the rapid rise of China's "flower-viewing economy", where seasonal sightseeing is expanding into a broader consumption ecosystem spanning catering, tourism and leisure activities.

Data point to strong sustained demand. Online travel agency Trip.com said bookings for flower-related tourism products in March rose 65 percent year-on-year, with cross-provincial travel accounting for more than 70 percent. Similarly, a report by Guangzhou, Guangdong province-based GZL International Travel Service showed that flower viewing now makes up nearly half of the domestic spring tourism market.

UTour, a major Beijing-based travel agency, said females accounted for more than 60 percent of travelers between March and May, prompting companies to expand product offerings and promotions targeting the "she-conomy".

The trend aligns with policy efforts to foster new consumption scenarios and boost domestic demand. The 2026 Government Work Report called for cultivating new consumption drivers and building high-visibility consumption scenarios.

The broader experience economy is expanding rapidly. According to a recent report on China's experience economy development, the market reached 18.4 trillion yuan ($2.68 trillion) as of November 2025, up 22.6 percent year-on-year, outpacing the global average by 7.4 percentage points.

Wei Xiang, a researcher at the National Academy of Economic Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the spring "bloom-boom" reflects a broader shift in consumer preferences.

"The heat of the spring economy is essentially a concentrated projection of consumption upgrades across a seasonal dimension. Demand is moving from simple sightseeing to immersive experiences, and from short-term spikes to longer-term engagement," Wei said, adding that rising interest in a sense of ritual, wellness and emotional value is reshaping consumption patterns.

He said that by creatively integrating flower viewing with camping and markets, local governments are successfully expanding and prolonging the consumption chain.

In some destinations, that shift is already translating into tangible growth.

In Wuyuan, Jiangxi province, visitor numbers during the rapeseed flower season are expected to rise by more than 15 percent year-on-year, with hotel occupancy rates more than 85 percent, said local authorities. Some areas have reported tourism-related revenue growth exceeding 50 percent, driven by integrated offerings.

In Wuhan, Hubei province, authorities have rolled out more than 300 activities spanning culture, sports, commerce and tourism during the cherry blossom season, alongside partnerships with companies including Starbucks, Alipay and Didi to integrate dining, transport and retail sectors into visitor experiences. More than 4,200 restaurants are participating in themed promotions.

However, the boom also exposes structural challenges.

The China Tourism Academy said more than 80 percent of flower-viewing destinations have profit windows of less than one month, highlighting constraints including strong seasonality and product homogeneity.

Wu Liyun, a professor at the China Academy of Culture and Tourism at Beijing International Studies University, said that while integrated "flower viewing plus" models are gaining traction, sustaining demand beyond peak bloom periods remains a challenge.

"Relying solely on short blooming periods is not sustainable. The key is to integrate flower viewing with other sectors and develop related products to stabilize demand," Wu said.