It is said that spring comes when the cherry blossoms bloom.

Kanzakura, the first cherry blossoms in Gucun Park, heralded spring in recent days. The variety is only 20% in bloom as the temperature is below what is normal for the time of year. But this did not dampen Baoshan residents’ enthusiasm for the first cherry blossoms.

Upon entering Gucun Park through Gate 3, the reporter saw the pink cherry blossoms dotting the Kanzakura trees, as if waving to visitors.

“The 2023 cherry blossom season in Shanghai is coming,” Li Yong, the person in charge of greening at Gucun Park told the reporter. “This Kanzakura behind me is the earliest of the 110 cherry blossom varieties in Gucun Park to have come out.”

Although the temperature outdoors was less than 5 °C, visitors were not stopped from coming to enjoy the cherry blossoms. Ms. Wang, who lives in Youyi Road Subdistrict, Baoshan District, came to Gucun Park with her families just to see the first cherry blossoms this spring.

“We mainly saw the cherry blossoms at off-peak times in previous years. But this year, we did not want our kids to miss out on the first cherry blossoms and came early,” said Ms. Wang.

Kanzakura in Gucun Park is about 20% in bloom and is expected to reach their full bloom in a week. People’s desire for the cherry blossoms actually represents their hope for spring.

Children took pictures with their smart watch under the cherry trees. “I’m so happy that the first cherry blossoms came out as blossom marks the arrival of spring. I will definitely come to the Cherry Blossom Festival this year at Gucun Park to see the cherry blossoms in their full glory,” said one of them.

The peak blossom of Kanzakura is immediately followed by the blossom of early-blooming varieties. “With the blossom of Kanzakura, all cherry blossom varieties will bloom one after another. Early-blooming varieties such as Kawazu-zakura, Tairyo-zakura, and Prunus campanulate will be in full bloom in late February and early March,” said Li Yong.

It is learned that at the 2023 Cherry Blossom Festival, visitors will see a new cherry blossom variety in Gucun Park. “We introduced Cerasus dielsiana ‘Yanzhifei’ in 2021 but visitors were not able to see it last year because of Covid. This year, citizens can look for it in the Yanzhi Forest about 50 meters from the entrance of Gate 3,” a Gucun Park official said.

At present, Gucun Park has over 16,000 cherry blossom trees from 110 varieties, which occupy an area totaling over 1 million square meters, making it the No.1 cherry blossom park in Shanghai in terms of planting area, number of varieties as well as number of trees.

Through years of efforts, Gucun Park has created diverse cherry blossom views for visitors in Meiying Forest, Yinghua Forest, Yinghua Garden, Chuiying Forest, Fuying Forest, Yinghua Plaza, Youyi Forest, Yingchun Forest, Zaoying Forest, and Cherry Blossom Varieties Garden that are connected to the Cherry Blossom Avenue.