What is the first plum festival for?

Plum Blossom Festival is the first national large-scale tourism festival held by Nanjing Municipal People's Government in spring, which enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. In 2005, Plum Blossom Festival ushered in its tenth birthday. From the first session of 1996, after nine years of creation and improvement, it has developed from a simple activity of flower exploration and beauty appreciation to a city-wide carnival integrating flower exploration, leisure and entertainment, song and dance performances, cultural exhibitions and business exchanges.

Nanjing Plum Blossom Mountain is the main venue of the Plum Blossom Festival for nine consecutive years, and it is also the only plum blossom viewing resort in China. Among the eight scenic spots for plum viewing in China, it ranks first in terms of the history, scale, quantity and variety of plum planting, and is known as the "No.1 Meishan in the world".

According to historical records, plum blossom cultivation in Nanjing flourished during the Six Dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a plum-viewing resort in the southeast of Linggu Temple, called Meihuawu, which was specially opened by the Ming court. During this period, there were more than 1000 plum trees, and plums were enshrined in the ancestral hall to worship the ancestors of the emperor. Every plum tree in the plum garden is hung with the word "Yu". Because the criminal law of the Ming Dynasty was strict, although there were many tourists, no one dared to climb branches privately.

In the early 1930s, the then Prime Minister's Cemetery Management Committee turned Meihua Mountain in Sun Yat-sen Cemetery Botanical Garden into a rose flower area and began to plant plums. By the eve of the Anti-Japanese War, a piece of Meilin had been formed here. Whenever plum blossoms were in full bloom, tourists often came in an endless stream. 1944 officially called Meihua Mountain.

In recent years, the planting scale of plum blossoms in Meihuashan has been expanding, and new varieties have emerged. Today, Meihua Mountain has a plum garden area of more than 400 mu, forming three plum blossom systems, five categories, 18 patterns and more than 230 varieties, with a total of about 15000 plants. Among them, there are many fine products, such as Gong Fenmei with light red makeup, Longyou Mei in Youlong, Green Sepal Plum with green calyx, Jade Butterfly Plum with snow-covered flowers, vermilion Plum with rouge beads, and exotic varieties such as Biejiao Evening Water and Nanjing Red. In addition, more than 60 varieties, such as "single petal jumping branches" and "small pink cinnabar", have obtained international registration. As the saying goes, "flowers will not bloom well", so it is very special to go to Meihua Mountain to "explore flowers" when plum blossoms are in bud. When plum blossoms are in full bloom, the Meihua Mountain, which is full of flowers, makes tourists indulge in picturesque scenery.