Beijing blooms as rose festival to start

The 6th Beijing Rose Cultural Festival begins on Thursday in the Chinese capital.

Boasting millions of roses of thousands of varieties, the exhibition, held in the Beijing Botanical Garden, Taoranting Park, Tiantan Park, Miaofengshan Forest Park and three rose production bases in the city, will last until June 15, the city's forestry and landscape bureau said.

The festival will help further boost the city's flower industry, while displaying a variety of roses, which is the capital's city flower, said Wang Sumei, deputy head of the Beijing Flower Association.

The 31-day grand floral gathering will present thousands of varieties of the bloom, including courtyard roses, climbing roses, mini roses and the Damask roses from which essential oils are extracted, Wang said.

The rose export industry in Beijing has seen a steady increase in recent years, said Fu Li, a staff member of the farm and flower industry division under the bureau.

"Most of the flowers are exported to Korea, Japan, Germany and Russia," she said.

Fu said the capital has been doing a lot of independent research on the flower and its related products, including essential oil, perfume and cosmetics, as well as food made of the flowers, such as rose cakes and rose syrup.

In addition to the floral exhibition blazing with colors, residents can also learn about flower arranging from experts and make their own flowerpots in the parks and gardens.

Snacks made of roses will also be available during the festival, according to the bureau.

For more information, visitors can log on to www.bjyl.gov.cn.

Beijing has received millions of visitors at its rose exhibitions since they began in 2009, the bureau said.