春花秋月 (Spring Flowers and Autumn Moon)

This chengyu – traditional four-character Chinese idiom – is used to describe scenery that is beautiful across seasons. Sounds poetic? Romantic? Well it is. It’s a line from a poem written by the Southern Tang dynasty emperor, Li Yu.

Say you’ve returned to the Longsheng Rice Terraces in autumn after visiting in the summer, where a sea of green steps dominated the landscape. Now green has turned to gold. Tall strands sway in a gentle breeze, illuminated under a misty orange sunset. Here you might gaze out at the scenery, questioning how a place could hold such striking beauty across seasons, and say in awe, “chunhua qiuyue”.

Here’s to hoping your Mid-Autumn Festival is full of 春花秋月moments!

(One way to guarantee that it is? Plan your travels with us 😉)