Ah! The sweet scent of springtime
Print Edition
The wintersweet blossom, praised as a “noble” flower in Chinese culture, takes its name from its hardiness in cold temperatures.
The strongly scented flowering shrub, endemic to China, is also grown in Iran, where it is known as the “ice flower.”
All the wintery connotations only serve to make this bloom a welcome harbinger of spring. In Shanghai, the best place to view wintersweet is Xinzhuang Park in Minhang.
Originally built in the 1930s, the park started as a fruit orchid and was called the Xinye Plum Garden and also Yang’s Garden. After several transformations over the decades, the park became a haven for wintersweet cultivation.
The 40,000-square-meter park now has 750 wintersweet shrubs planted in its boundaries. Every year during the blossom season, hundreds of thousands of people visit the park to enjoy the brightly colored flowers.
Wintersweet belongs scientifically to the genus Chimonanthus. It was domesticated during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), inspiring poetry at the imperial court. Its blossoms are synonymous with the Chinese New Year and often used for holiday ornamentation.
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