By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

The twelfth month of the lunar year represents the transition between an old year and a new one. Afterward, wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) will gradually come into view, with its scent wafting everywhere in the freezing winter.

Jingguan Town, Beibei District, Chongqing, is famous for the “Hometown of Wintersweet”. The flowery wintersweet blossom in winter is one of the pillar industries for the locals to increase their income. Meanwhile, the nearby villagers cut off the branches, and then tie them into bundles or wrap them into bunches. In this way, the scent of wintersweet will pervade outside and inside their homes, and even main urban areas.

In the township road of Jingguan Town, it is often to meet villagers carrying the flower branches. They transport the branches to the entrance to the village and wait for the flower collector.

Moreover, some villagers also directly take the bundles to downtown Chongqing by bus for sale.

From Rural to Urban Areas

In Chongqing’s main urban area, those who are extremely fond of sweet flowers may buy it in Nanshan Mountain. The car with wintersweet covering on the roof spreads the fragrance, drawing the attention of passersby along the way.

Basically, Chongqing people love it for its aroma and beauty, also for its tenacity of blooming in the cold. Furthermore, the people selling flower scatter around the bustling Jiefangbei Central Business District.

The wintersweet that blooms in midwinter alone brings people visual enjoyment. At the same time, with its sweet and slightly bitter petals, it also offers a good medicinal value. In many places in Chongqing, it is available to purchase finished products made from the petals of wintersweet. For example, there are traditional Chinese medicines, handmade soaps, and skin care products. The fragrance of wintersweet is therefore incorporated into the daily life of Chongqing people.

This winter, the fragrance of wintersweet permeates the air in Sichuan and Chongqing. Numerous people do wintersweet-related business, including planting, selling, collecting and purchasing, all of whom feel satisfied. The fragrance of the sweet flowers drifts from the village to the main urban area of Chongqing. It also spreads outward to distant places through the express delivery of fresh cut flowers.

Source: Xinhuanet