Captured by staff working at the Forbidden City, the photos of blooming crab appletrees against the backdrop of red bricks and yellow roofs were posted on the museum’s official microblog account on Thursday afternoon. /The Palace Museum Photo

In just four hours, the posts were shared more than 2,000 times and received over 5,000 "thumbs up". /The Palace Museum Photo

Many left comments saying they will download the photos as their new homescreen images. /The Palace Museum Photo