The beauty of the rape flower can be enjoyed in southern China, but a rape flower field planted to resemble the traditional Chinese character long, meaning dragon, can only be seen in Anshun, Guizhou province.

March and April are the best months to visit Guizhou to enjoy the blossoming flowers along the road to the area.

Anshun is already well known as the home of Huangguoshu, the biggest waterfall in China, but fewer people know about the Dragon Palace, a natural karst cave with fantastic scenery. The Dragon Palace is hosting a Rape Flower Tourism Festival, which opened on March 22, to attract photographers as well as residents to visit. This year's event runs for one month.

Anshun is 90 kilometers from the provincial capital of Guiyang. In Anshun, rape flowers are in bloom. The scene looks like a sea of golden flowers.

Rape flowers' bright colors, accompanied by sunshine and blue skies, create a beautiful scene.

Close to the Dragon Palace, the Chinese character long is written in the rape flowers and broad beans. The design of this dragon-like shape is based on the cursive script by Huai Su, a famous calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

The local government began to plant the flower field in 2008 and took one year to arrange the rape and broad beans so the dragon-like shape would be vivid, according to Chen Huaping, an official of Longgong county.

"We gave each farming household 680 yuan ($110) per mu (1 hectare equals 15 mu) as rent and planting fee, and taught them how to plant the field. So, many farmers were willing to cooperate with us to make the scene more beautiful," Chen says.

With the annual income increase of 2,000 yuan, 25 percent of farmers in Xuantang village are planting rape.

Song Shoufu, a local villager, has planted rape for six years and he now plants the hybrid rape which could make his annual harvest double.

"I plant 0.2 hectares of rape and broad beans and technicians teach us every year how to plant to make the field resemble a dragon," Song says. "As the field attracts more tourists, we can also profit in other ways, such as selling snacks to earn more."

Surrounded by mountains, the vast golden field covers an area of 6 hectares between rolling mountains. The flowers make up a winding river through them, allowing visitors to roam freely through the flower sea.

"Although we can also see the flower field in other places, it is our first time to enjoy the flower sea with a dragon-like shape, which is absolutely a feast for eyes," says one traveler surnamed Yang.

Visitors can also enjoy the authentic folk songs from the Tunpu people, an ethnic tribe in Anshun. Folk music was introduced to Guizhou from a southern area by the Yangtze River 600 years ago.

The ethnic tribe has maintained their traditional customs from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) until today, including its clothing and lifestyle.

When talking about Anshun, many people immediately think of the Huangguoshu waterfall, but the Dragon Palace is also a national 5-A tourist attraction.

Entering the cave by boat, one will be amazed by various kinds of naturally formed stalactites. Each type is strikingly vivid.

The karst cave is regarded by many experts as the longest cave with the largest waterfall in it. Other than the cave, the foaming waterfall, stone forest and pearl clusters also make the Dragon Palace a must for nature lovers.

Ai Qing, a famous Chinese poet who once traveled here, praised it as a miracle of nature.

"The Dragon Palace enjoys unique conditions and advantages for tourism development. Besides, the vast rape flower field with a dragon-like shape is also the biggest attraction for travelers," says Bai Qinghua, a local official. "Although the flower field could be seen each year, when it clearly appears before our eyes, the scene always impressed every visitor."

Bai says that their next move is to cooperate with the Huangguoshu to make Anshun a desirable tourist destination so that people could visit these two national 5-A tourist attractions within one day.

If you go

There is expressways between Guiyang and Anshun. The drive takes one-and-a-half hours. The ticket price for the Dragon Palace is 120 yuan during the low-season and 150 yuan during the high season (March-November).

lijun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 04/10/2014 page8)