Blooming Chinese roses decorate Beijing's major roads

Beijing's major streets and ring roads have been coated with blooming pink Chinese roses, adding more colors to the national capital with a pleasant view.

Roses grow along the second, third and fourth ring roads -- the main arteries of Beijing. The city's greening department says it selected a special variety for the traffic-heavy roads.

"The variety selected for the Guomao bridge area is Yueding, a new strain we cultivated on our own in Beijing. This strain of rose is prominent in its improvement the rose's traits of vehicle exhaust-, drought-, and heat-resistance, and its flowering period is longer with greater flower volume," said Ji Peng, deputy director of the Urban Greening Division of Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau.

The pink Chinese rose Yueding's flowering period lasts from early May to mid-November, up to 200 days.

To guarantee the growth and ultra-long flowering period of the roses, the greening department has installed smart irrigation systems in bridge areas, with flower boxes equipped with precision drip irrigation devices that automatically adjust water volume and irrigation time according to weather conditions.

The Chinese rose is the city flower of Beijing and has become an iconic flower for the city's ecological landscape.

Currently, Beijing has grown nearly 2,000 Chinese rose varieties, including some 200 self-bred varieties, and has built rose landscape belts stretching over 1,000 kilometers.

"In the process of building the capital into a garden city, we focus on creating greening scenes around people's living quarters. Different areas are decorated with different colors to match their tone, allowing people to have refreshed feelings about the surroundings when they go from place to place. This is also to keep citizens in a pleasant mood when they are commuting to and from work," Ji said.

Blooming Chinese roses decorate Beijing's major roads

Cycling tours along Beijing's Central Axis have emerged as a popular way for inbound tourists to explore the historic city, allowing international visitors to experience Chinese culture through local food and heritage sites.

When night falls over the ancient capital, Belgian tourist Lode Vandendriessche and his family set off on bicycles along Beijing's Central Axis for an unforgettable evening. Winding through the old city's narrow hutongs, the family sampled more than a dozen authentic local snacks, immersing themselves in the flavors and atmosphere of traditional Beijing.

"It was nice to drive around or cycle around Beijing areas where you normally wouldn't come, like the hutongs is pretty special. And then in addition, the diversity of food was very impressive," Lode Vandendriessche said.

This appetite for authentic, experiential travel is a growing trend among inbound visitors, according to local tour guides who serve international travelers.

"You can see many foreign visitors in pairs or groups all across the city's streets and alleyways, especially family travelers like them. They are quite eager to seek out interesting activities around the city," said Dou Junjie, a local tour guide.

The rising enthusiasm for immersive Beijing experiences aligns with official data showing robust growth in cross-border passenger traffic at the capital's ports this year.

Since the start of 2026, cross-border passenger flow at Beijing's ports has climbed steadily. As of Thursday, total inbound and outbound passenger volume had surpassed 13.6 million, including over 4.6 million foreign nationals, representing a 30 percent year-on-year increase. On August 2, daily cross-border passenger traffic exceeded 80,000, hitting a nearly six-year high for single-day volume at Beijing's ports.

Beijing's Central Axis cycling tours draw inbound tourists with immersive cultural experience