According to a Chinese folk tale, an emperor in ancient China was so enchanted by the "fine jade flowers" in the Yangzhou city over 1,000 kilometers away from the capital that he ordered the construction of a long canal just to travel there to enjoy the sight.

The fine jade flower's Latin name is Viburnum macrocephalum f. keteleeri. Originating from China, it was named Qiong, which means fine jade in Chinese – a reflection of its beauty in the Chinese people's eyes.

Its bloom consists of an outer ring of eight large white sterile flowers surrounding a center of small fertile flowers, and it is also called as flowers that "gather eight fairies" in Chinese.

In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the flowers had their prime time, attracting people from emperors, poets to the masses, with Yangzhou city of east China's Jiangsu Province being the ideal place to see them.

But, Yangzhou's unique shrub, which has nine sterile flowers, has been extinct for about a thousand years.

In the 1950s, Yangzhou city started a city-wide search. The only thing they found was the shrub with eight big flowers. People decided to accept the fact and recognize it their city flower.

The real Yangzhou fine jade flower remains elusive.

China's Flora Tour

From the wetlands along the coast to the dense rainforests hidden in the southwest, China boasts an array of plant species. In this series, we will go on a tour to learn about some of the most representative flora in different provinces and see how they live in harmony with the local geography and climate.

Read more:

China's Flora Tour: Why do Chinese people love lotus?

China's Flora Tour: Touch me not please

China's Flora Tour: Sprung in spring, elegant and brilliant

China's Flora Tour: Euphrates poplar – king of the desert

China's Flora Tour: Lady's slipper orchids

(Cover image via VCG, designed by CGTN's Qu Bo)

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