The wintersweet flowers in Chongming Gaojiazhuang Ecological Park have proudly bloomed in the cold winter. The flowers are yellow like wax, with a strong fragrance that fills the air. The pale yellow translucent petals bloom layer by layer, surrounded by a rich aroma. Follow the reporter to take a look at these enticing winter "little sprites."

Upon entering the "Plum Affinity" area of Gaojiazhuang Ecological Park, the reporter saw the wintersweet flowers blooming against the cold wind. Golden yellow flowers leaped onto the branches, with a subtle fragrance floating around. Upon closer inspection, the golden petals gathered towards the center, adding a touch of lively vitality to the winter.

Every year when the wintersweet flowers bloom, citizens always wonder whether it's "蜡梅" or "腊梅" (different Chinese characters with the same pronunciation). According to research, during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Song Dynasty in the Yuanyou years (1086-1094), the literary giants Su Dongpo and Huang Tingjian, seeing the yellow plum flowers resembling beeswax, named it "蜡梅". They said it had "a fragrance like plum, similar to what women make by kneading wax", hence the name "蜡梅". Since then, wintersweet became famous and thrived in the capital. Later, poets often played with the character "蜡," meaning wax,in their poems about wintersweet, such as "Butterflies collect flowers to make wax, and then use wax to dye flowers." It can be seen that "蜡梅" is the real name, while the name "腊梅" probably came about because the flowers bloom in the “腊月,”the last month of the lunar calendar, and thus the error was passed down.

The staff of Gaojiazhuang Ecological Park said that wintersweet is a precious ornamental flowering tree unique to China. Since it blooms in the frosty and snowy cold days, it is also a main ornamental flower in winter. It is reported that the flowering period of wintersweet is relatively long. It is now gradually entering the viewing period and will last until mid-February. Interested citizens can take advantage of the winter sunshine to visit Gaojiazhuang Ecological Park and enjoy the limited-time winter scenery.