As China's National Day holiday draws to a close, the flowers on the streets of Beijing are still jubilant.

Twenty million pots of flowers are scattered across the capital to celebrate the 70th National Day, according to data released by the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau. A dozen parterres designed to present the national achievements over the past seven decades are set along Chang'an Avenue, the main avenue in Beijing where the parade and gala took place.

The central parterre with a giant petal basket in the middle is one of the most beloved photo backgrounds for visitors and local residents in Tian'anmen Square.

The basket contains peaches, pomegranates, persimmons, apples and other fruits with auspicious connotations, as well as peony, magnolia, Chinese rose, orchid and other flowers. 

Designing the giant basket was not an easy task. "During the whole design process, we not only need to know the site thoroughly, but also need to make sure the light is just right; that's the most difficult part," Lan Hailang, the chief designer, told Xinhua.

The fresh flowers under the large basket were also carefully selected.

Assembling the giant baskets was an arduous task. It must be completed after the gala on the night of October 1 and before the flag-raising in Tian'anmen square on the morning of October 2. The assembling must be finished in only seven hours.

The flower basket has been displayed in Tian'anmen for nine consecutive years, but the technicians never stop innovating their techniques. This year the flower petals look much more lifelike.

The parterre in Tian'anmen square was first displayed in 1986. 

According to the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau, the central parterre was just a simple mound of pots of flowers at the beginning. Until the 1990s, the design of the parterre began to reflect the theme of major national events.

In 2008, the year of the Beijing Olympic games, the parterres in Tian'anmen were designed with the Olympic logo in the middle.

Gradually, the flower display in the square became not only a carrier to highlight the festive atmosphere and but also a way to show the achievements of national construction. Watching the well-designed parterres during the National Day holiday has become a tradition and collective memory.

Many internet users have posted their childhood photos with parterres, saying these snaps were inescapable.

930 parterres decorate Beijing

With some 20 millions pots and 930 parterres, Beijing is filled with a strong festive atmosphere in a sea of flowers.

This year, many parterres were inspired by science and technology achievements: Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Fuxing bullet train, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, Jiaolong submersible, and Long March-11 carrier rocket.

Many parterres were also designed to represent the culture of Beijing.

A parterre designed as a circular viewfinder is placed in front of Gulou (Drum Tower of Beijing), which is a major landmark on the central axis of the inner city.

Nationwide, cities were decorated with flowers during the holiday.

Shanghai chose flowers with the national flag colors to decorate its streets. According to official data, during the National Day holiday, Shanghai's flowerbeds stretched over a total of 140,000 square meters. Over 13.4 million pots of flowers were used.

(Top image designer: Liu Shaozhen)