Since the beginning of the Spring Festival holiday, many renowned municipal parks of Beijing have been welcoming the general public with a wide range of fun activities.

Starting from February 2, Beijing Municipal Administration Center of Parks, based on the unique features of parks such as the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, Beihai Park, and the Museum of Chinese Gardens and Landscape Architecture, has launched over 80 events across nine categories. These events include New Year's park tours, distribution of posters with the character "福" (fu, which means "good fortune") at renowned parks and gardens, intangible cultural heritage-themed events, and artistic performances.

Soaking up folk traditions and viewing flowers are favorite pastimes of locals and tourists alike during the park tours.

Visitors to Beihai Park can expect to get themselves immersed in festive ambiance and lion dance culture as they are treated to the Baizhifang Taishi Lion Dance, a nationally recognized intangible cultural heritage.

Visitors to the Summer Palace will be treated to the "Proud and Delicate Fragrance" (傲骨幽香) Chinese Plum and Wintersweet Spring Festival Culture Exhibition with century-old plums and palatial flower arrangements, an intangible cultural heritage item. At Yuyuantan Park, visitors can take in Beijing's earliest blooming cherry blossoms, while the China National Botanical Garden has orchids and other fine flowers on display in celebration of the coming of spring.

Writing down the character "福", extending good wishes, and climbing mountains to pray for good luck are all part of the tradition of the Spring Festival park tours. Visitors can seek good wishes at parks like Fragrant Hills Park by collecting stamps and climbing mountains to pray for good fortune, and visit park fairs at Fragrant Hills Park, Beihai Park, Jingshan Park, and Zizhuyuan Park.

Also among the good destinations for celebrating the Year of the Dragon are Jingshan Park where the "Excellent Craftsmanship - Woodworking Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition" is underway, and the Temple of Heaven where visitors can explore the unique charm of intangible cultural heritage items such as Taipingyan, the Summer Palace hosting the "Auspicious Dragon for New Year - Special Exhibition of Cultural Artifacts with Dragon Patterns", and Zizhuyuan Park where everyone can get a better understanding of the New Year's paintings created through rubbing.

What about your plans for the Spring Festival? We would love to hear your festival stories and experiences in the comments.

(Source: IOBMPG)