Sea of fragrant snow! Pear blossoms in NE China

Sea of fragrant snow! That's how an ancient emperor of China described Beizhen City when it is full of pear blossoms.

Beizhen has been cultivating pears for over 300 years and is believed to be the first city in northeast China to plant pears. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when Emperor Qianlong visited Beizhen, he was impressed by blossoming pear trees, which he commended as a sea of fragrant snow.

With orchards covering an area of about 120,000 mu (8,000 hectares), the city produces around 80,000 tonnes of pears every year.

Apart from the pear blossoms, Beizhen City is also famous for its long history, with a few cultural relic sites dating back to over 1,000 years ago. Among them is the Beizhen temple, which is built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) to pay respect to the God of Yiwulu Mountain.