Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/embed/TicFdXtNzh8
On March 24, the "Blooming Hangzhou" Spring Festival and the opening ceremony of the Xixi Flower Dynasty Series Events, jointly organized by the Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau and the Xihu District People's Government, took place at Xixi Wetland. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of Hangzhou Xixi National Wetland Park. At the ceremony, two new works by the Hunzhi Team—Fall in Love with Xixi Wetland in Half an Hour and Half-Hour Comic: The Water Margin—made their debut. These publications, rooted in the ecological and cultural resources of Xixi Wetland, infused the fragrance of literature into the floral festivities, adding poetic charm to the spring celebration. Local cosmetics brand Florasis showcased its "Oriental Aesthetics" and "Song Dynasty Culture" themes by constructing immersive installations such as a "Flower Dynasty Garden" boat and a "Floral Treasures" exhibition space. Visitors engaged in traditional activities like Song-style hairpin decoration, floral forehead ornament painting, ribbon blessings, and flower-inspired art, experiencing the fusion of classical and modern aesthetics. The event featured the first public appearance of the Song Dynasty-inspired "Twelve Flower Goddesses," who paraded through Xixi Wetland’s natural landscapes and waterways, captivating visitors with their elegance. Over the next two months, these "goddesses" will grace five iconic cultural and tourism landmarks—Guozhuang Villa, the Cherry Blossom Running Trail, Xianghu Lake, Tongjian Lake, and Gaoting Mountain—spreading springtime joy through interactive performances and folk experiences.
During the day's festivities, local cosmetics brand Florasis showcased its "Oriental Aesthetics" and "Song Dynasty Culture" themes by constructing immersive installations such as a "Flower Dynasty Garden" boat and a "Floral Treasures" exhibition space. Visitors engaged in traditional activities like Song-style hairpin decoration, floral forehead ornament painting, ribbon blessings, and flower-inspired art, experiencing the fusion of classical and modern aesthetics.
At the event site, a vibrant Blooming Market was unveiled, featuring around 20 booths hosted by cultural and tourism enterprises. The market offered a diverse array of experiences, including Han-style clothing rentals, handmade crafts, light refreshments and coffee, potted plants, artistic floral arrangements, tea tastings and ceremonies, beauty and makeup services, intangible cultural heritage workshops, and aromatic lifestyle products. Cutting-edge technology was seamlessly integrated into the traditional cultural ambiance, creating fresh experiences for visitors, catering to their varied shopping needs, and fostering a lively consumption scene that bolstered both the "beauty economy" and springtime tourism.
Notable participants included Meilong Caotang, West Lake Tea Art, and Damintang, which showcased seasonal tea selections; "Book Fragrance for Flower Fragrance", Baisheng Precision Agriculture, Xixi Shiwu Flower Café, Macheng Chunyuan, and Shili Fangfei Floral Wellness Market, which curated exquisite floral boutiques; Yuejian Shuguang, Guomai Bookstore, and the Half-Hour Comic Station, which infused literary charm into spring through reading; Yixun Jiuchuan, which provided on-site traditional makeup experiences; and Meitong Fragrance, renowned for its olfactory artistry. As the official fragrance supplier for the Hangzhou Asian Games, Meitong had excelled in scent design for the opening and closing ceremonies, earning industry-wide acclaim for its premium products.
Additionally, the West Lake Immigration Integration Center leveraged the market to introduce the "AI Hangzhou" (Love Hangzhou) foreign-friendly service platform. Built on Alipay’s mini-program framework, the platform integrates three core modules—city services, local information, and city navigation—consolidating government, lifestyle, and tourism resources to advance Hangzhou’s vision of becoming a "world-class international metropolis.
At the opening ceremony on the 24th, the Hangzhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, in collaboration with district and county-level cultural, tourism, sports bureaus and the Municipal Landscape and Cultural Heritage Bureau, launched "Floral communicate with Hangzhou: Ten Routes & Ten Exhibitions"—a grand initiative showcasing the city’s spring floral splendor and cultural depth.
The "Ten Blooming Stroll Routes" offer distinct thematic experiences, encompassing iconic spots like West Lake and Xixi Wetland alongside emerging hotspots such as cultural districts, ancient towns, and urban parks across Hangzhou’s districts and counties. These routes invite visitors to immerse themselves in spring’s splendor through leisurely walks.
Meanwhile, the "Ten Floral Exhibitions" running from now through late May, present a dazzling array of flower-themed events, including the Tulip Exhibition at Prince Bay, the Peony Exhibition at Six Harmonies Pagoda, and the 3rd Hangzhou Rose Show. A standout highlight is the upcoming Hydrangea Exhibition at Chengdong Park, which will delve into Wushan folk culture through landscape installations, premium floral arrangements, environmental displays, and interactive activities, enriching the floral festivities.
By leveraging the "floral economy", "Floral communicate with Hangzhou" aims to inject new energy into cultural tourism consumption, boosting revenue for adjacent industries like dining and accommodation. It also uses flowers as a medium to promote biodiversity conservation, underscoring Hangzhou’s identity as an "Ecological Civilization Capital."
"The flowers’ birthday heralds spring’s zenith, yet half the season blooms await the Flower Dynasty Festival." From March 24 to May 11, the 2025 Hangzhou Xixi Flower Dynasty Festival will grace the city, celebrating spring in grand style. Rooted in Chinese tradition, the festival embodies profound cultural and spiritual values. Since its debut in 2011, it has become a beloved springtime destination for locals and visitors alike. This year’s theme, "Water Margin Dreams, Song Dynasty Blossoms", showcases the charm of Flower Dynasty culture through diverse activities, inspiring passion for preserving both traditional heritage and wetland ecosystems.
The event masterfully blends the elegance of Song Dynasty aesthetics with Water Margin lore. Artfully curated floral displays—winding flower-adorned bridges and causeways, banks ablaze with blossoms—enhance Xixi’s signature "streams veiled in mist" scenery. Song-style flower boats invite guests to "sail into spring," while lush sites like Green Causeway and Yanshui Fishing Village burst with over 200,000 pots of 40+ flower varieties. Early bloomers include poppies, snow willows, cherry blossoms, weeping crabapples, rainbow rapeseed flowers, February orchids, gazanias, geraniums, and dahlias. By April, peonies, tree peonies, azaleas, roses, hydrangeas, and lupines will join the dazzling competition of colors and forms. Highlights span immersive experiences: "Encounters with Flower Goddesses" in April’s fragrant air, "Song-Style Hairpin Workshops" for time-travel flair, "Water Margin Adventures" on themed bike trails, and upgraded "Water Town Weddings" steeped in romance. The festivities also feature Intangible Cultural Heritage kite-flying spectacles and bustling Flower Dynasty markets, offering a sensory feast that captures Xixi Wetland’s springtime magic.
Notably, Xixi Wetland has unveiled its exquisitely produced 24-episode mini-drama Blooms Adrift the Pon, premiering across the Xixi wetland’s WeChat video Channel, TikTok, and social media platforms during the Flower Dynasty Festival. Bridging digital engagement with real-world exploration, the series invites audiences to “watch Flower Goddesses online and immerse in the festival offline”, weaving Xixi’s landscapes and narratives into households nationwide. This innovative blend of storytelling and tourism amplifies Hangzhou’s cultural allure, polishing its reputation as a premier destination where nature, heritage, and creativity converge.
Media Contact
Company Name: Hangzhou Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau
Contact Person: Zhang Yan
Email: Send Email
Country: China
Website: https://youtu.be/TicFdXtNzh8
