A mother and her girl walk in a field of flowering peach trees in Yuncheng, Shanxi province. JIA GENSHENG/CHINA DAILY

Flowers aren't the only sign of life after winter's thaw. Warmer weather also lets tourism bloom. Su Zhou and Sun Ruisheng explore Shanxi province's peach, pear and cherry flowers.

Spring paints the world after a white winter.

The tradition of travel outings with relatives and friends to enjoy blooms blasting among willows and waterways－especially around the Tomb Sweeping Day－is thousands of years older than the concept of tourism as an industry.

It was called taqing.

Today's Chinese have simply replaced hiking and horseback with high-speed trains.

And taqing has become a component of tourism.

Many remote Chinese towns have gained international acclaim for picturesque spring landscapes. Visitors are lured by yellow rapeseed blossoms to Jiangxi province's Wuyuan; to pink cherry blooms outside Hubei province's Wuhan; and to Henan province's Luoyang for popping peonies.

That's why northern China's Yuncheng in Shanxi province has invested seed money to make it a blossoming destination for flora fanatics in three to five years.

The city abounds in heritage as a cradle of Chinese civilization. And it's celebrated for its agriculture.

(Shanxi is among the first batch of three provinces that won approval to export apples to the United States.)