Springtime in rural areas of Qijiang District, Chongqing

By Keqiao Cheng, iChongqing News

Chongqing – This Wednesday, February 27, Chongqing Agriculture Commission hosted a press conference on springtime activities in rural areas. Among hundreds of recommended routes, flower tour, tea/fruit-picking tour, and terraced rice field tour are three must-try seasonal activities.

Keywords of Chongqing’s rural tourism for 2019

According to the press conference, Chongqing will follow the development philosophy of “continuation”, “integration” and “green” in rural tourism, and strive for a high-quality development of this industry.

Regarding “continuation”, it is easy to understand that Chongqing will make continuous efforts to build the sector of rural tourism.

Meanwhile, in terms of “integration”, there are three aspects.

1) The integration of rural related sources, projects and works, aiming to create a new developmental mechanism

2) The integration of different industries such as agriculture, tourism, culture, healthcare, among others, to extend the industry chain

3) The integration of touristic services to make better travel experiences for visitors.

As for “green”, there is no need to make extra explanation since it is the common sense that sustainable development should be green and eco-friendly.

Featured rural touristic activities in springtime

A total of 81 rural touristic routes, which cover 323 places, were released at the news conference. Also, there are three must-try activities during springtime in rural areas of Chongqing.

1.Flower tour

Cherry blossoms at Nanshan Botanical Garden, Chongqing

Flower tour is the favorite even for local people, especially on a sunny weekend. In the vast land of Chongqing, you can enjoy the blossoms of some typical seasonal plants such as the rapeseed, plum, pear, peach and orange trees. Besides this, it is worth mentioning that the Rapeseed Flower Festival in Tongnan District, which will open March 1, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in springtime Chongqing.

2.Tea/fruit picking tour

The foggy and humid climate at Chashan Zhuhai (Tea Mountain and Bamboo Forest) is good for tea growing.

A tea or fruit-picking tour is also welcomed by many people since you can either enjoy the tea culture or have some fresh fruit while enjoying the rural landscapes during spring. For tea-picking, a good place is Chashan Zhuhai (Yongchuan District). In addition, it made itself known to the public after the wuxia romance film House of Flying Daggers shot outdoor scenes here. Meanwhile, for fruit-picking, there is a variety of choices from strawberries, cherries to oranges or loquats.

3.Terraced rice field tour

Terraced fields are easy to find in a mountainous region like Chongqing.

Terraced rice field is a carrier of traditional Chinese farming culture, especially for a mountainous region like Chongqing. Also, for many photographers and painters, these unique mountain farms are indispensable for their creation in this season. As for tourists, a terraced rice field tour in springtime is also a good chance to learn the human geography of Chongqing.

For detailed rural touristic route information, please visit http://mlxc.cqagri.gov.cn/ (only available in Chinese), or simply stay tuned on our website for the upcoming English travel guide for spring.