Southern and eastern China are emerging from the chill of winter with the emergence of the first cherry and plum blossoms ushering in the warmer months ahead and drawing tourists to enjoy the dazzling February scenery.
In east China's Fujian Province, Yongfu County has come to life with a spectacular bloom of hundreds of thousands of cherry blossoms.
Featuring 42 distinct species of cherry flowers, the blossom season in Yongfu town runs from late January to mid-March, drawing both local and out-of-town visitors to appreciate the beauty of spring and provide economic benefits to local farmers.
Yongchuan District in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality is also awash with blossoming plum trees after recent warm weather and bright sunlight encouraged the new flowers to burst forth.
Early spring blossoms appear as parts of China emerge from winter chill
Early spring blossoms appear as parts of China emerge from winter chill
The Polish government has recently rolled out a series of emergency measures to cushion the impact of energy costs on households in light of rising oil prices and increasing inflation risks.
Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, international crude oil prices have jumped, pushing fuel prices in Poland up by more than 30 percent over the past month. Starting Tuesday, the Polish government began implementing a package of measures aimed at reducing fuel costs. These include lowering the value-added tax on fuel, cutting excise duties to the minimum level permitted under the European Union (EU) regulations, and cracking down on price gouging to maintain market stability.
Notably, gas stations in Poland have seen an increase in customers following the price cuts. Still, many residents believed the reduction is only temporary and that prices will likely rise again in the future.
"Even though the government has lowered prices, they are still high. I think the price cut might last for a while, but it's hard to say how long. I think this is just the beginning and the prices will rise in the future," said Arkadiusz, a local resident.
Polish economist Tomasz Bieliński said that it remains unclear how long the government can sustain these policies, and that rising energy prices are now transmitting pressure to core areas of the macroeconomy. In his view, if oil prices continue to climb, the European Central Bank and other central banks across the EU may be forced to adjust their monetary policies.
"Interest rates were actually reduced in most of the central banks in Europe. But, this reduction will probably stop, because we have rising prices of pretty much everything on the horizon," he said.
Poland unveils measures to ease pain of soaring oil prices
