Tourists flock to floral display

The huge basket-shaped flower arrangement in Tian'anmen Square is a mustsee for tourists visiting Beijing during the National Day holiday.

It has been on display in the square since Sept 23, and Bai Fan, 24, admired it with his girlfriend during the Mid-Autumn Festival last month. They traveled to Beijing during the three-day holiday from Changsha, Hunan province, because they were told there would be too many tourists in Beijing during the National Day holiday.

In a patriotic mood, they put Chinese flag stickers on their cheeks and busily snapped photos in front of the massive flower display.

Many other tourists were taking selfies with the basket. Strolling vendors hawking selfie sticks vied with photographers in gray vests who offered to take souvenir instant-print digital photos of visitors.

"This is my first time visiting Beijing near the National Day holiday, and I'm very impressed," said Bai, who works for a financial company in Changsha. "The flower display is quite beautiful and complements Tian'anmen Square well since they are similar in color.

"One cannot help but feel the love for the country and the pride to be Chinese."

Zhuang Chen, 25, who has visited Tian'anmen Square many times, was another early viewer of this year's massive flower display.

Last year, he got up at 4 am on Oct 1 to see the flag-raising ceremony in the square on National Day.

The flower display is a colorful backdrop to the celebrations in Tian'anmen Gate Tower and helps create a joyous atmosphere every year, Zhuang said.

"Seeing the national flag guards march in tight order from Tian'anmen Gate Tower, singing the national anthem with tens of thousands of people around you, and watching the national flag flutter in the wind, the sense of patriotism overwhelmed me," he said.

Every year, Beijing sees an influx of visitors during the National Day holiday, along with a surge in tourist revenue.

Domestic tourists made more than 12 million trips in Beijing over the eight-day holiday last year, up 5 percent year-on-year, spending 9.536 billion yuan ($1.39 billion), an increase of 11 percent, according to the Beijing government.

zoushuo@chinadaily.com.cn