ItB次元官网网址檚 springtime in Metro Vancouver, when thickets of selfie sticks and tourists sprout up beneath canopies of the regionB次元官网网址檚 famous cherry blossoms.
On Sussex Avenue in Burnaby, east of Vancouver, a group of five fashionably dressed women set up an iPhone on a tripod under the blossoms.
One accessorizes with a green scarf then pauses to give instructions to her friends, adjusting their angles, just so, for the perfect shot. TheyB次元官网网址檙e too busy to talk, as they strike a series of poses, hands on hips.
Such scenes are familiar for Linda Poole, founder and creative director of the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs from April 1 to 23.
She recalls the sight of tourists getting out of a tour bus at Queen Elizabeth Park, one of VancouverB次元官网网址檚 most popular locations for blossom viewing.
B次元官网网址淎nd they are literally dancing under the blossoms and singing and modelling and posing. ItB次元官网网址檚 really cute. I see that all the time,B次元官网网址� said Poole.
VancouverB次元官网网址檚 cherry blossoms have become a domestic and international tourist draw, with Chinese tour companies offering flower viewing packages for thousands of dollars, competing with more traditional locations such as Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan.
Edward Xie, manager of Richmond, B.C., travel agency First Express Travel, said his company advertises Vancouver flower viewing in international markets.
He said guides pick up travellers from China and the U.S. at the airport and drive them around the cityB次元官网网址檚 best cherry blossom locations.
An eight-day, seven-night trip from China to Vancouver and Victoria that is promoted by First Express isdubbed the B次元官网网址渢wo cities flower viewingB次元官网网址� tour and costs 33,603 yuan, or $6,580.
B次元官网网址淲alk into a colourful world to enjoy flowers, watch whales and roam freely outdoors. Experience the romance brought by pink cherry blossoms and feel the vibe of April on CanadaB次元官网网址檚 west coast,B次元官网网址� reads the advertisement.
VancouverB次元官网网址檚 blossoms have become renowned in East Asia, where the cityB次元官网网址檚 trees have their origin. The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival includes a walking tour of the blossoms through the Kitsilano neighbourhood in Mandarin. Like the English-language tours, itB次元官网网址檚 fully booked.
Poole said that in the 1930s, the mayors of the Japanese cities of Yokohama and Kobe gave 500 cherry trees to the Vancouver Park Board to honour Japanese Canadians who served in the First World War.
Now, Destination Vancouver says there are more than 40,000 cherry trees in the city.
Charlene Liu, president and CEO of Panasia Holidays, a Calgary-based tourism company, said cherry blossom viewing is extremely popular among Chinese-speaking domestic tourists, many of them from Edmonton and Calgary.
B次元官网网址淔or them, itB次元官网网址檚 like a perfect combination to gaze upon the cherry blossoms while exploring the local culinary scene since Vancouver is also famous for food,B次元官网网址� said Liu in an interview conducted in Mandarin.
Cities like Kyoto and Washington, D.C., might have bigger international reputations, but Xie said many blossom tourists to Vancouver also have family in the city.
B次元官网网址淭aking photos under the cherry trees is a universal thing B次元官网网址� everyone loves it,B次元官网网址� said Xie.
ItB次元官网网址檚 not just tourists drawn to the blossoms that drift down like pink snow when caught by a breeze.
Burnaby resident Emmanuel S.T. Yu, enjoying a stroll under BurnabyB次元官网网址檚 cherry blossoms with wife Connie, said the flowers reminded him it was B次元官网网址渁 blessingB次元官网网址� to live in B.C.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 my familyB次元官网网址檚 annual tradition to walk around to see the cherry blossom trees and we have been keeping doing this for 11 years straight. We never get tired of it,B次元官网网址� said Yu in Mandarin.
B次元官网网址淭he flowers always easily cheer us up, reminding us about how lucky we are to live here.B次元官网网址�
Jordan Liu, B.C.-based director of the tour guide training program with the Canadian Inbound Tourism Association of Asia Pacific, said there were more than 2,700 cherry blossom locations across Metro Vancouver, and the choice could be overwhelming.
But he has some favourites B次元官网网址� Graveley Street on VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Eastside, West 22nd Avenue, Nelson Street in the downtown core, Yukon Street and outside Vancouver City Hall.
On West 22nd, Sophie Chan said she travelled on multiple buses to get to the neighbourhood from her home in Surrey. The slight rise and fall of the street makes it possible to see a corridor of blooming trees stretching into the distance, and itB次元官网网址檚 a favourite location on Instagram.
Chan said the secret to a good cherry blossom photo is patience B次元官网网址� you need to wait for the right moment, with the right light, and the right wind to bring the petals fluttering down.
Angela Hong lives on West 22nd. ItB次元官网网址檚 a mixed blessing B次元官网网址� the blossoms makes her feel B次元官网网址渃alm and peaceful,B次元官网网址� but the crowds of photographers can be loud and B次元官网网址渜uite annoying.B次元官网网址�
She said it is good to see people out enjoying the season, but they need to be mindful that people live in the neighbourhood, too.
Retired mechanical engineer Kenneth Kwan, 84, was standing outside his home on Sussex Avenue in Burnaby, wearing a straw hat as he greeted people taking photos of the blossoms.
He said the flowers made him feel alive after an illness confined him to hospital for more than six weeks last year.
B次元官网网址淢y friends from San Francisco will soon come to Vancouver to visit me. I will show them around the city, including the cherry blossoms in my neighbourhood,B次元官网网址� said Kwan.
B次元官网网址淔riends, flowers and laughter are the best.B次元官网网址�
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press B次元官网网址 Fellowship.
Nono Shen, The Canadian Press
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