On April 4, Weifang’s (潍坊) Taihua (泰华) City South Gate Square turned into a living scroll. Drums and zithers played. Crowds gathered. The fourth annual Flower Festival and Hanfu Culture Week had begun.
Twelve “flower goddesses” stepped forward. They had won a citywide contest—online votes, then live judging. Their robes swayed in the spring breeze. After the ceremony, a parade flowed through Kuwen (奎文) Pavilion, Zhong Xing (中兴) Street, Holiday Plaza, and Ye Wei Fang (夜未坊) Culture Lane. Hanfu wearers mixed with shoppers. Old alleys met modern malls. Phones clicked. Strangers smiled.
The festival runs nine days. There are discount markets, more parades at People’s Square, and tours of the 1532 Cultural Park. A photography and short-video contest is also running.
This is Weifang’s fourth year hosting the event. It revives an old tradition—the Flower Festival, once a day for spring outings and flower worship. Now it fuels local shops and brings people outside. Families wander. Young people dress up. The city feels less like a schedule and more like a garden.
Weifang plans to keep going. More cultural events will come. But for now, on these April days, the robes float, the flowers bloom, and the streets hum with something old made new again.
