Blue-purple beauty returns to Kunming

Half of the city is filled with spring colours, as the blue jacarandas bloom one after another. A gentle breeze and a fragrant flower sea, it romanticizes the city and enchants visitors from all directions.

Yunnan, this land hailed as the "Kingdom of Plants," has nurtured countless precious flowers. The romantic people of the province live among flowers. From daily life to cultural traditions, each flower carries local characteristics and ethnic charm. Flowers not only make for a beautiful environment, but also play an important role in promoting high-quality economic development and improving people's lives.

Kunming is a city that is never in short supply of flowers. Every season has its own colours, but if we talk about Kunming in April and May, it is definitely dominated by shades of blue and purple. As spring comes to an end in late April and early May in Kunming, the small purple flowers called blue jacarandas bloom abundantly all over the city. They create a dreamlike fantasy with their blooming branches forming a breathtaking blue-purple flower sea. The petals sway gently in the breeze, emitting a subtle floral fragrance. Many tourists come to take photos under the beautiful blue-purple skies to capture this rare beauty.

Known as "the dream-like shade of purple," it refers to clusters of unforgettable little purple flowers that gradually prospered after being introduced from afar like romantics crossing oceans. These tiny seeds have turned Kunming into shades of blue jacarandas every April and May since 1984 when they were brought from Algeria through seed exchanges by Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

With more than 40 years passing since those ten tiny seeds arrived in Spring City after travelling thousands of miles, now the present generation can enjoy them widely planted along streets and even alleys - during late spring or early summer - when they are in full bloom.

Jiaochangzhong Road, chosen as one of the main streets featuring Blue Jacaranda trees long ago, has already reached 551 trees today. Therefore, the whole street has become a unique landmark representing charming colourful springtime scenery.

Such special views enable the Blue Jacaranda tree itself to be regarded as the most romantic “calling card” of both the Kunming City area and Wuhua District, where Jiaochangzhong Road is situated .

In 2023, Sina Weibo had more than 14 million views of the topic about Blue Jacarandas at Kunming; Central Provincial Newspapers such as the People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, China Media Group and so on etcetera attracted a total of more than 520 million views of related reports. Furthermore, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV English channel and “Charming Yunnan”(Facebook) and other international media platforms across South Asia & Southeast Asian countries reached up to 160 million views. Global media coverage helps to highlight the Blue Jacaranda at Spring City, creating worldwide interest.

Under these tall Blue Jacaranda trees, people flow like streams and cars pass like rivers. The popular photo spots such as Jiaochangzhong Road, Panlong Riverbank and Chun Cheng Lu are always crowded. Hundreds of people are busy finding their perfect angles for photos.

Others quietly raise their heads, enjoying clusters upon clusters of purple blossoms swaying under the sunlight. "The city is full of blooming flowers, Kunming looks especially beautiful and these Blue Jacarandas are so stunning!" Ms. Fan, a visitor who came all the way from Shanghai just to see these flowers, said excitedly under the trees on Jiaochangzhong Road. "I've never seen Blue Jacarandas before in Shanghai. This trip was solely dedicated to seeing them."

The Blue Jacarandas create a blue-purple fantasy in Kunming, attracting many friends from afar just to witness this ethereal flower sea!