09/07/2026
Summer is lotus season.
In Chinese culture, the lotus is never just a flower.
Zhou Dunyi, a scholar of the Song Dynasty, captured its essence in his classic essay "爱莲说 "("On the Love of the Lotus"), crowning it the “gentleman among flowers.”
For a thousand years, painters have painted it, poets have praised it, and scholars have turned to it as a mirror of their own aspirations.
On rainy days, raindrops gather on the broad leaves like liquid pearls. And the lotus shows a different kind of beauty.
The 13th Shanghai Lotus and Water Lily Exhibition is now on display across the city, with the main venue at Guyi Garden, featuring over 500 lotus varieties and more than 110 water lily varieties. Satellite venues include Zuibaichi Park, Zhabei Park, Yangpu Park, and others, spread across seven districts.
The exhibition runs until July 28 — a full month to find a day and meet the lotus on your own terms.
📍 Guyi Garden | 古猗园
📸：@朱佳丽
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