Sichuan Xichong: Thousands of Acres of Peach Blossoms

In the intoxicating spring breeze of March, the tulips in the picturesque fields of Shunqing District, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, are in full bloom. The rapeseed flowers in Fengyi Bay·Sino-French Agricultural Science and Technology Park are as charming as rosy clouds. The pear blossoms in Huaxianzi Garden in Jialing District exude a delicate fragrance. Cherry blossoms in Langzhong Tengwang Pavilion, and Gesang flowers in Fuhu Town, Nanbu County, and other colorful "spring" flowers are competing to bloom. In Xichong County, however, tens of thousands of acres of peach blossoms are opening in succession, romanticizing the countryside and shining like rosy clouds. On March 22, the "2025 Xichong County 13th Peach Blossom Season," a highly renowned festival brand in Northeast Sichuan and even the whole province, romantically kicked off at the Peach Culture Expo Park in Gou Lou Town. More than ten thousand visitors from within and outside the province flocked in, fully enjoying a "cultural and tourism feast" filled with floral fragrance.

According to the introduction, this year's Peach Blossom Season, themed "Come to Xichong to See Spring, Come to Gou Lou to Admire Peach Blossoms," will last until early April. The opening ceremony was held simultaneously in the form of a "main venue + sub-venues." During the event period, activities such as the "Spring Fills Xichong·Poetic Peach Blossom" Poetry Competition in the Peach Orchard, the "Come to Xichong to See Spring·Come to Gou Lou to Admire Peach Blossoms" Peach Blossom Market, the "Hundred Flowers Bloom·Spring in Xichong" People's Big Stage 2025 Xichong County First Flower Festival Season, the "Peach Blossom Boils·A Thousand-Year Spring Banquet" Xichong Copper Hot Pot, and the "Peach Blossom Fun" 2025 Music Season will be held. Visitors can immerse themselves in the beautiful spring scenery, enjoy the beautiful views of the Peach Blossom Spring, taste organic delicacies, experience intangible cultural heritage, and fully experience the unique charm of "Ecological Countryside·Organic Xichong." They can enjoy the beauty of being "intoxicated" by the peach blossoms in spring and fulfill their romantic spring appointments.

To further enrich the tourists' experience, this year's Peach Blossom Season has carefully launched three spring flower-viewing routes, covering diverse themes such as peach blossom exploration, traditional culture, and rural charm. These routes cleverly connect nearly 20 characteristic tourist spots along the way, such as the Peach Culture Square, Fairy Platform, Peach Blossom Pond, Yuandou Peach Orchard (the most beautiful garden), Guojianglou Village, and the most beautiful section. Along the way, activities such as camping, picnicking, rural markets, stove tea, and rural bonfire banquets are carried out to welcome the spring and enjoy the greenery. With flowers as the medium, the potential for consumption is further released, driving the rapid development of emerging industries such as organic life, study tours, cultural experiences, and rural homestays.

Since 2010, the Xichong County Peach Blossom Season has successfully extended cultural activities into a grand "flower economy" market integrating flower viewing, tourism health care, and product sales, becoming a bright cultural and tourism calling card for Xichong.

The continuous blooming of tens of thousands of acres of peach blossoms has set off a surging spring tide in Xichong's "flower-viewing economy." In Zhang Lan's hometown, the plum blossoms emit a subtle fragrance, with white plums as pure as snow and red plums as bright as rosy clouds; in Renhe, the rapeseed flower sea is as golden as honey, with bees and butterflies fluttering; in Xianlin, the peonies are as magnificent and noble as they were in the prosperous Tang Dynasty; in Guanwen, the orange blossoms are fresh and pervasive, carrying the sweetness of a bountiful harvest; in Gao Yuan, the roses are as passionate and brilliant as they build a four-season flower corridor... In Xichong, the land is full of flowers, and the "flower-viewing economy" resonates with rural revitalization, continuously transforming ecological advantages into development momentum. During this year's Peach Blossom Season, the county is expected to attract nearly 1.1 million tourists, generating a comprehensive cultural and tourism income of more than 850 million yuan.

Promoting tourism through culture, highlighting culture through tourism, promoting tourism through agriculture, and revitalizing agriculture through tourism. In recent years, Xichong County, with the goal of building an "Ecological Countryside·Organic Xichong," has adhered to the development concept of "high-quality development, regional layout, and industrial chain drive." It has vigorously promoted all-for-one tourism, forming a comprehensive development pattern integrating agriculture, cultural leadership, tourism drive, and multi-industry integration. It focuses on building a "rural tourism destination" that integrates modern agricultural sightseeing, rural vacation relaxation, and folk experience.

Nowadays, rural tourism is blossoming in many places, and the "flower sea economy" has become the "password to wealth." Jiang Xiaoping, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the Nanchong Municipal Committee and Secretary and Director of the Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, said that counties (cities, districts) in Nanchong are fully implementing the municipal government's deployment of "industry as the foundation, cultural and tourism revitalization of the city." They are actively developing various cultural and tourism activities "mediated by flowers" and continuously delving into various types of spring economies to stimulate more cultural and tourism consumption, transforming "cultural and tourism traffic" into "economic growth."

(By Yi Qinghai and Tang Min)