The breathtaking scenery of rapeseed flowers in Hanzhong has seldom failed to pack in travelers from far and wide over the years.

The city in the south of Northwest China's Shaanxi province is home to more than 60 square kilometers of rapeseed flower fields that create splendid scenery.

This year, the local government is holding the canola flower tourism and culture festival, an annual fair, which runs through May 1. About 50 observation spots have been designed for tourists and 29 visiting routes have been created throughout the city to ensure the best possible views of the spring landscape.

Travelers can also enjoy tourism expos, marathon and cycling competitions, which are among many other events being held during the ongoing festival.

By the middle of March, the festival had received 1.05 million traveler visits and raked in 850 million yuan ($126.8 million) in tourism revenues.

A photographer from the United States paid a visit to Hanzhong in March and said he was amazed by the multicolored rapeseed flowers, while another tourist surnamed Hu has been a regular to the place every year for the past decade.

Hu from Shaanxi's capital Xi'an city usually visits the festival with a group of other tourists and said the "blossoms look better every year", thanks also to the government's encouragement for locals to plant new varieties of rapeseed flowers and boost tourism.

Mao Zhifeng, 76, received seeds of a polychromatic rapeseed species from the local government, which has spiced up Hanzhong's blossom landscape and increased Mao's income. In addition to the flower seeds used to grow plants for sightseeing purposes, Mao can extract oil from the extra ones.

Tourists can also enjoy distinctive local snacks.

Rural resident Mao Cailing is among many who have sold the local specialty, hot noodles, to tourists over the years.

Xi'an is also home to rare species of birds such as the crested ibis, a tourist draw.

The Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) was founded in Hanzhong, where the first emperor Liu Bang started his long journey to conquer the country. The place enables tourists to explore elements about the dynasty's history, including sites on the ancient Silk Road and know more about the envoy Zhang Qian and paper inventor Cai Lun.

Contact the writers at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Global 04/26/2019 page15)