CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Recently, topics such as “Chongqing azalea sea likes the Wizard of Oz” and “Chongqing 100 mu azaleas bloom in the mountains” have been frequently searched. In fact, they all refer to the same place: Fangniu Village in Nanshan Mountain, Nan’an District, Chongqing Municipality.

High trees and low azaleas are strewn together, and clusters of azaleas are like large colorful mushrooms, which has some feel of “The Wizard of Oz”.

A reporter from Chongqing Morning Post saw at the gate of the Azalea Garden that the admission fee to enter the Garden is 20 yuan for adults, half (10 yuan) for children under 1.2 meters and the elderly aged 60-70, and free for the elderly over 70.

“This place has been popular for several years. We didn’t charge admission before, but just started this year.” The person in charge of the site told the reporter that in order to make tourists experience better, the village spent about 1.5 million on building roads and toilets, and the admission fee was also approved by Price Bureau and other relevant departments. This was also to make everyone have better supporting facilities to play and have more fun.

According to the report, in Fangniu Village, Nanshan Mountain, there is an “indissoluble bond” between Fangniu Village and azaleas.

Su Zhaohua, a 55-year-old villager of Fangniu Village, recalled that in the mid-1980s, some villagers filled their pack baskets with azaleas and sold the azaleas at the flower market in Yuzhong District for more than 80 yuan which was higher than the monthly salary of a civil servant at that time.

Since then, azaleas have become “golden lumps” of the villagers in Fangniu Village, and have been well protected. It is said that the highest daily reception reached 20,000 persons before admission charging, and 15,000 persons after admission charging. (Translated by Zhang Ying, Fathom Language Limited)