Viewing 樱花 (cherry blossoms) in Wuhan

 The Wuhan University campus was busy this weekend, March 19-20, with visitors coming to see the cherry blossoms.Thirty years ago the cherry trees bloomed, of course, and were admired, but it wasn't the carnival it is now, with trails of honking cars bulling their way through the crowds and lots set aside for tour buses.

Many of the trees were planted during the anti-Japanese war, when the Japanese established headquarters at the University. Two years ago a pair of Chinese visitors caused a controversy by wearing Japanese kimonos to view the blossoms. Remarks like "they were intentionally trying to provoke, completely disregarding the disaster Japan brought to China," and "If you cannot tolerate kimonos, then why can you tolerate Japanese sakura cherry blossoms?" appeared on Chinese blogs.

Hawkers of soda, snack food and bracelets have set up shop along the road running in front of Wuda's old buildings.

The period of blooming is only a few days. According to studies in Japan over many centuries, and at Wuda since 1947, it has come earlier each year: about two days earlier over each decade, reflecting the effects of global warming.


The steps up to the old library and classroom buildings, past the old student residential section, still in use.







Viewing plum blossoms in Hangzhou



Hangzhou Botanical Garden, February 25



I made another quick visit to Hangzhou this last weekend, February 25-28, to look at plum blossoms blooming in the Botanical Park. Plum blossoms, a common motif in traditional painting and poetry, have always been associated with the Chinese New Year.

However, there were no scholars in long robes and scholar hats, brush in hand, painting or composing odes to plum blossoms. Instead, digital cameras took closeups of the red, white, and yellow 'mei hua,' , and picnickers picnicked on the grass.

The next day I went to Xixi National Wetland Park (西溪国家湿地公园)in the far west part of Hangzhou, said to be the "first and only wetland park" in China.

Sicily BBQ & Pub

Cultural Revolution painting, Jiang village town hall

It's not a wetland park in the sense we usually use the term, but rather is being developed around a village situated around a complex of waterways connected to the Grand Canal. It's still in the process of development, and there are signs it may ultimately succumb to over-commercialization (for example, the "Sicily BBQ & Pub" which greets one near the park entrance).

Deserted Jiang village house

But for the present, one can still see remnants of the life of Jiang Village in its many fish ponds, abundant Shizi fruit trees, and the abandoned houses, most still not restored. Some recently constructed houses had to be abandoned when the Hangzhou government created the park; now they are homes only to birds.


Jiang village waterway

 Theoretically, anyway, one can take a boat from this small town in Zhejiang all the way to Beijing, along the Grand Canal, an engineering feat that dates back to the 7th Century A.D., designed to bring grains from the south to the northern capital.

Ma Yuan, "Viewing Plum  Blossoms by Moonlight"
Southern Song Dynasty (1271-1368)