Zhongshan Park's tulips enjoy ancient-style buildings, blossoming trees, and tall, venerable trees as their backdrop. [Photo:CRIENGLISH.com]

BEIJING -- Zhongshan Park, immediately to the west of the Forbidden City, is currently running its annual Tulip Festival, which has roots in Chinese-Western friendship.

Built in 1420 during the Ming dynasty, the park was first used as a sacred ground for prayer. In 1940, the park was renamed "Central Park," and became the first one in the city to open to the public. Later, the park's name was changed to "Zhongshan," in commemoration of Sun Yat-sen.

The park quickly gained recognition for its foliage. Some of the trees are up to 1,000 years old, and the park is home to a variety of flowers every spring. Zhongshan's distinctive crop of tulips arrived from Holland in 1977.

That year, China and Holland created a formal relationship, and Princess Beatrix of Holland (now the reigning queen) gave the tulips, the national flower of Holland, to Zhongshan Park as a gift. More tulips were added in 1996, which was the inaugural year of the festival.

Over 100 varieties of tulips now grow in the park. This year's Tulip Festival runs from Apr 10 to May 10, but the best time to see the tulips is between mid-April and the end of the month.

Aside from a beautiful exhibition of the colorful flowers, the park also holds several events aimed at raising public interest in tulips and their heritage. "We hope visitors come here not only to see the beautiful colors and shapes of our tulips, but also to understand the culture and history of the flower," said Yuan Chengjiang, garden manager at Zhongshan Park.

The park holds a seminar during the festival every year featuring tulip-planting experts from Holland. In addition, this year marks the second annual Tulip-planting contest. Participants received the tulip bulbs last fall, and the winner will be decided between Apr 15 and 20 by judges from flower bulb companies in China. The contestant who grows the best tulip will be awarded a trip to Holland to see the tulips in Keukenhof Park and learn more about planting tulips.

Yuan hopes the Tulip Festival and contest will help to bring the two countries together: "Tulips make our park stand out from others in Beijing. They represent the friendship between Chinese people and the Dutch, and act like a bridge connecting the cultures of the two peoples."

Many of Beijing's parks hold flower festivals in the spring, but Zhongshan distinguishes itself from the rest with a wide offering of flowers. "We also have other flowers like the crabapple, ornamental peach blossoms, and peonies, which all have different flowering times. It helps prolong the exhibition and attract more visitors," according to Yuan.

For amateur photographers, the park offers particularly camera-friendly scenery. The park's gardeners planned the flower patches so that the short, blossoming trees and the tall, ancient trees create a forest-like backdrop for photos. According to Yuan, parks in Holland arrange their parks in a similar way, "The only difference is that they don't have these tall, ancient Chinese trees."

This is the season of the plum and peach blossoms, which pay homage to Chinese history and culture, but for a reminder of China's openness and friendship with the West, visit Zhongshan for a colorful exhibition of Holland's national flower.