As one of the main distribution areas of azaleas in Yunnan, the Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture is particularly rich in azaleas. Azaleas here are wildly grown across mountains and hills. Every year around May, azaleas in Diqing begin to enter its flowering period. Azalea trees would grow not on mountains and hills but also on plateaus and grasslands. This time, thus, has been considered the most beautiful period in Diqing over a year.

Since 2018, a number of flower related cultural events have been held in Diqing, with an aim to show the ultimate beauty of azaleas. Azalea clusters scatter across the entire Diqing, from the well-known Tiger Jump Gorge to the plateaus of Xiao Zhongdian. Azaleas with a great variety of colors, such as white, pink, light yellow and purple would transform Diqing into a paradise of flowers.

In Xiao Zhongdian, the local azaleas have been dominated by a species with small peddles. However, they look equally charming and attractive to those with larger peddles in the sun.

The Diqing Baima Snow Mountain not only gives birth to Yunnan’s snub-nosed monkeys, it is also a perfect place for azaleas to flourish. There are plenty of alpine azaleas growing at the altitude of about 3,000 meters. And at a higher altitude of 4,000 meters, one can find stretches of bright-yellow azaleas with shapes of crowns.  In the western world, these azaleas are particularly known as “Wald azaleas”, because they were found and brought back to Europe by an Enlgishman named Wald from Yunnan. By this fact, one can better understand why Yunnan has long been known as the “Kingdom of Flora” in China.

In Diqing, the Pudacuo National Park is a must-visit stop on tourists’ journey to enjoy blooming flowers. Every year around the end of May, the park would be filled with a variety of colorful and crystal-clear azaleas, showing their beauty together in the sun. What is more interesting is that since the year of 2019, tourists have also been allowed to fly over stretches of azalea clusters by helicopters, enjoying the spectacle formed by azaleas from the sky.