Yuyuantan Park, Beijing, China

The Yuyuantan Lake was first created during Qing Dynasty when Qianlong Emperor was the ruler.In the year of 1773, springs from Fragrant Hills were introduced into the low land and impounded to be a lake. Beside the lake, Qianlong Emperor built a imperial palace for short stays. In later half of Qing Dynasty, however, the palace was gradually abandoned, and the lake also almost dried up.
In 1960, Beijing government introduced water from Yongding River into the lake and made it revived. Yuyuantan became an urban park of Beijing. In 1990s, the rest parts of the park were built, and the sakura was widely planted in the park.

The 28th Cherry Blossom Festival has begun and people are flocking to Yuyuantan Park to see cherry trees in full bloom.  The annual festival, which officially started on March 23, has been a popular local attraction since it was first held in1988.  The Cherry Garden, located in the northwestern part of the park, began with 180 cherry trees gifted from the Japanese in 1973 when the two countries resumed diplomatic ties. Today, the garden is home to more than 20 different species of 3,000 cherry trees.