City Trees

The city trees of Beijing are the Chinese scholar tree and the arborvitae. As a symbol of Beijing's far-reaching civilisation, they are among the city's main species of trees, and both have a long cultivation history here. The Chinese scholar tree is suited to Beijing's meteorological and soil features. It is a sunshine lover, characterised by resistance to droughts, high temperature, saline, alkaline and soil compaction. It is well adapted to urban soil with debris. As Beijing's oldest shade tree, the Chinese scholar tree is celebrated as the "king of shade trees." Peculiar to China, the arborvitae is a species of evergreen arbor. It is characterised by resistance to cold weather and droughts, delicate fragrance and a long life. Arborvitaes grow luxuriant in imperial parks, gardens, altars and temples, creating picturesque scenery in a solemn atmosphere.

City Flowers

The city flowers of Beijing are the Chinese rose and the chrysanthemum. Also named yueyuehong ("red every month" in Chinese), the Chinese rose is a native species of flower to China. It has a cultivation history of more than 1,000 years. The Chinese rose, hailed as the "queen of flowers," is one of China's ten famous blossoms. The plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum are regarded as "four gentlemen" mainly because of their strong nature and elegance. The chrysanthemum, originating in China, has a cultivation history of over 3,000 years. When hard frosts set in, the chrysanthemum does not fade easily. Representing the unyielding character of Beijingers, the chrysanthemum became the city flower of Beijing. Beijingers promote a traditional high level of applying chrysanthemums to ornamental moulds.