The ancient lotus from seeds that had lain dormant underground for more than 100 years is propagated to the second generation whose flowers are in full blossom at Beijing's Yuanmingyuan, or the Old Summer Palace.

Eleven ancient lotus seeds were first discovered at Jingxiangchi of Ruyuan in the east of the park in 2017. After eight seeds were sent to the Institute of Botany at the Chinese Academy of Sciences for experimental cultivation, six successfully sprouted and took root in 2018 with flowers blooming in 2019 for the first time.