Blooming spring flowers draw visitors across Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

The "Blooming Beijing -- 2026 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Flower-Viewing Season" officially kicked off on Friday, with the three regions releasing flower viewing and purchasing maps and a year-long slate of floral events to deliver rich, diverse flower appreciation, shopping and cultural experiences for residents and tourists.

The kick-off ceremony of the event was held along the banks of the Beixiao River in Beijing's Chaoyang District. Along the waterway, Beijing has created a 4.2-kilometer "cherry blossom river", paired with cherry blossom-themed parks made up of multiple themed amusement areas. Around 6,000 cherry trees of various varieties are currently in full bloom along the river.

The upgraded riverside landscape and public amenities have been warmly received by local residents.

"The start of spring in 2026 has brought remarkable changes to the areas around us. Many residential communities along the river have removed walls to open up green spaces. We can step right out to the riverbank and see greenery everywhere. The area is also fully equipped with facilities including benches, elephant-shaped slides and swings for children to play on. These are exactly what we need," said Qu Yongchun, a local resident.

Beyond the scenic and amenity upgrades, the "cherry blossom river" has also realized a perfect integration of technology and ecology.

For the first time, the waterway has deployed unmanned cleaning and inspection boats, driverless road sweepers and autonomous sightseeing boats along the route.

Officials noted that the riverside cherry blossom attraction is just a preview of the wide range of events planned for the cross-regional, year-long floral celebration.

"We will hold more than 1,000 flower-themed cultural events this year. What's more, we have launched exclusive flower viewing consumption vouchers that cover full-channel services including catering, accommodation, transportation, entertainment and shopping, to bring tangible benefits to residents. Meanwhile, our year-round flower cultural events and exhibitions will also feature sales of characteristic flowers from Hebei and Tianjin," said Zhong Fei, deputy director of the industry development division at the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau.

Blooming spring flowers draw visitors across Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Chinese spacecraft developers have accelerated development of the spacecraft for the country's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission by five months — moving its launch from the original schedule in October to late May — achieving greater efficiency without compromising safety or reliability.

According to He Yu, general commander of China's manned spacecraft project of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the accelerated development began shortly after the emergency launch readiness of the Shenzhou-22 last November.

"We have accelerated the development of the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft. It was originally planned for launch in late October, but has now been moved up to late May. In the six months since last November, we have gained five months of progress. This means the pace of work has been quickened by nearly one time," He said.

He further explained that a series of measures to ensure mission success have been adopted alongside the accelerated development, adding multiple layers of assurance.

"We have continued the proven measures that have ensured success in the past, which are fundamentally based on a sound product assurance system and strict process control. We have maintained high-quality assembly operations, continued to implement efficient and high-quality automated testing procedures, adopted a specialized flight control model, and maintained a full-process quality confirmation system to ensure reliability and safety of the product," He said.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to be launched at 23:08 Beijing time (15:08 GMT) on Sunday from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

Chinese astronauts Zhu Yangzhu, Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying will carry out the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission, and Zhu will be the commander, the China Manned Space Agency announced at a press conference on Saturday.

Chinese engineers move Shenzhou-23 manned spacecraft mission forward by 5 months while ensuring safety