Random old Bing wallpapers

Houtouwan was a fishing village on Shengshan Island, one of nearly 400 islands in an archipelago in Hangzou Bay, about 60 kilometres from Shanghai. By the 1990s, most of the village’s residents, about 2,000 in all, had left the island. Problems with food delivery and education have been cited as the primary problems that caused the mass exodus. Now the village, overgrown and slowly decaying, has become something of a tourist attraction, with a few full-time residents conducting tours of this eerie, green ghost town.

One day, the trees are bare. The next, the city is bursting with pink and white. Suddenly, everyone is outside—phones in hand, snapping away. That's the magic of cherry blossom season in Vancouver. With thousands of cherry trees in full bloom, it's the perfect excuse to slow down and soak it all in. The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, which began in 2006, is the city's way of celebrating this fleeting beauty with art, music and community events. Whether it's the Big Picnic at Queen Elizabeth Park, guided blossom walks or live performances under the trees, there's something for everyone.

Cherry blossoms don't stick around for long, and that's part of their charm. In Japan, they represent the beauty of impermanence—a reminder to enjoy the moment. Vancouver's first cherry trees came as gifts from Japan in the 1950s, and now, they're an essential part of the city's springtime identity. If you want to catch peak bloom, head to Queen Elizabeth Park, Stanley Park or even neighborhood streets like Burrard Station.