Pear blossoms festoon Xiangyuan town in blanket of white

Fruit farmers pollinate pear blossoms in Xiangyuan town on April 5. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xiangyuan in Pingyao county is currently awash with dozens of square kilometers of magnificent white pear blossoms, as the weather continues to warm up in the town in North China's Shanxi province, according to local officials. 

Farmers in the town said this year's pear flowering season in Pingyao county is set to stretch from April 3 to 13, with the actual period of blooming on April 6-10.

In recent years, the number of tourists who come to Xiangyuan town for sightseeing has been increasing by the year. The local annual pear blossom tourism festival and the pear picking festival have been held for nine consecutive years. 

It's become the top choice for locals and tourists alike from surrounding counties and cities to enjoy a memorable spring outing -- and has become a new rural tourism brand in Shanxi province, to boot. 

Xiangyuan town has formed a complete pear cultivation system ranging from planting and production, to transportation and marketing, with local pear trees now covering more than 40 sq km. 

The Ministry of Agriculture awarded the local Pingyao Pear Garden a title in the list of "China's Beautiful Countryside" sites in 2014. 

A few years later, in 2017, the local Pingyao Crisp Pear brand passed its certification for green food and national protected geographical indication products by the Ministry of Agriculture, showcasing the increasing reputation and market share of pears produced in Xiangyuan county.