Blooming flowers boost rural economy in Xinjiang

Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Yao Gang) news: “I had long heard that the apricot blossoms in Ili were beautiful, but only after seeing them in person did I realize how breathtaking they truly are. The air is filled with the fragrance of flowers, and walking beneath the apricot trees is especially pleasant. This trip was well worth it.” In mid-April, apricot blossoms were in full bloom across Apricot Blossom Valley in Tuergen Township, Xinyuan County, Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Li Shuyu, a tourist from Urumqi, made a special trip there with her family to enjoy the blossoms.

Photo taken on April 5, 2026 shows the wild apricot forest in Narat Apricot Blossom Valley has ushered in a wave of flower viewing. (Photo by Zhang Wenting)

In spring, the Ili River Valley is transformed by the wild apricot forests that spread across the hills and slopes of Tuergen Township in Xinyuan County. The apricot blossoms, in shades of pink and white, resemble drifting rosy clouds, attracting visitors from across the country. In the early morning, tourists stroll among the flowers, capturing the beauty of spring with their cameras, while children chase and play beneath the blossoming trees, their laughter echoing through the valley.

Villagers in Tuergen Township begin their preparations early. Households clean their courtyards and offer distinctive homestays and farmhouse cuisine. The homestay run by villager Ardak Tohda has been particularly popular this spring, with all rooms booked half a month in advance. “In the past, our family mainly relied on grazing, which brought limited additional income. Since the village began developing flower-viewing tourism, we opened a homestay. The income from one month during the spring blossom season is equivalent to nearly half a year of grazing,” Ardak said with a smile while preparing mutton for tourists. The flow of visitors drawn by the sea of blossoms has made his family’s life increasingly prosperous.

Like the apricot blossoms in full bloom in Xinyuan County, spring breezes have swept across both the northern and southern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains, bringing flowers into bloom successively throughout Xinjiang. Apricot, peach, and pear blossoms now adorn urban and rural areas as well as mountains and fields, creating a vibrant spring landscape.

Drawing on its unique natural endowments, Xinjiang has used flowers as a medium and tourism as a driver of rural development, promoting the deep integration of the “flower-viewing economy” with rural tourism. In this way, vast seas of blossoms have become “flowers of prosperity” for rural revitalization, transforming a continuous influx of visitors into tangible income for villagers and presenting a promising spring scene in which tourists enjoy their travels while farmers increase their earnings and improve their livelihoods

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Photo shows tourists stroll among the sea of almond flowers in Arele Township, Yarkant County, Kashi Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Qu Yuzhi)

In Yingisar County, apricot blossoms are blooming across 11,333 hectares of Semaiti apricot orchards, forming an uninterrupted sea of pink and white flowers. The local Apricot Blossom Festival integrates intangible cultural heritage skills, including clay pottery, knife-making, and Dawaz performance, with the flower-viewing experience. Activities such as Muqam flash mobs and intangible cultural heritage performances allow visitors to immerse themselves in the charm of the Silk Road. In villages surrounding the scenic area, farmhouse restaurants are fully occupied, and villagers have set up stalls selling specialty dried fruits such as dried apricots and almonds, as well as cultural and creative products including handmade clay pottery and embroidery. Each stall is crowded with visitors. Villager Turgun Tohti earns more than 1,000 yuan per day by selling his family’s Samsa and milk tea. “In the past, we tended the apricot trees and could only look forward to selling the fruit in autumn. Now, we can earn money as soon as the flowers bloom in spring. The income from the flower-viewing season is equivalent to more than half a year of fruit-growing income, and life is becoming increasingly hopeful,” he said.

As the largest almond cultivation base in China, Yarkant County integrates Uygur song and dance performances as well as intangible cultural heritage exhibitions into its seas of almond blossoms when the flowers are in full bloom, creating a distinctive flower-viewing experience. The Peach Blossom Festival in Awat Township, Kashi City, has been held for 11 consecutive years, evolving from simple blossom appreciation into an integrated model of “culture and tourism + agriculture + experiential activities.” More than 200 booths featuring local delicacies and specialty agricultural products enable villagers to increase their income near home. Across the Xinjiang, localities are drawing on distinctive fruit-tree resources to launch a range of activities, including flower-viewing hikes, folk-custom experiences, and agricultural product exhibitions and sales, allowing visitors to deeply experience the unique charm of rural southern Xinjiang while enjoying the blossoms.

Xinjiang has adapted measures to local conditions and made the “flower-viewing economy” an important driver for revitalizing rural tourism, while continuously improving tourism infrastructure and enriching the supply of tourism products. Dong Ke, a member of the think tank of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said, “Localities can upgrade single-purpose flower-viewing tours into a rural tourism industrial chain that integrates sightseeing, experiential activities, leisure, and consumption by creating high-quality flower-viewing routes, cultivating new forms of rural tourism, and exploring the cultural significance of folk customs, thereby enabling flower to stimulate the growth of industries.”

Amid the seas of flowers, tourists fully enjoy the beauty of spring. In the villages, residents increase their incomes and achieve prosperity through tourism. Spring blossoms not only embellish the rural landscape, but also nourish villagers’ happy lives, unfolding across both the northern and southern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains a moving picture of thriving industries, beautiful countryside, and prosperous farmers.

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