High-speed trains wind through a sea of blooms when traveling in Beijing's Yanqing suburb. [Photo by Pan Zhiwang/China Daily]

Day-trippers flooded the area after seeing the photos. Many told Pan they enjoyed picnics with wine.

"They enjoyed viewing the blossoms while hearing the train," Pan says.

Tourists can see the blooms on the municipality's S2 rail line that connects Beijing North Railway Station to Yanqing.

Train tickets cost 6 yuan ($1).

The site is in the middle of the Nankou and Badaling stations, Pan says.

Passengers can view the blooms for five to 10 minutes, Pan explains.

Many told Pan they made it a point to get window seats.

Roughly half of Chinese tourists spent the three-day holiday among blossoms this year, a report by the online travel agency Ctrip says. It was based on data from hundreds of thousands of group and individual travelers.

Time limitations are the deciding factor for most tourists.

Jiangxi province's Wuyuan, Hubei's provincial capital Wuhan and Henan province's Luoyang were major bloom sites. Each traveler spent an average of 1,420 yuan, the report says.

Pan points out, among calls for tourists' civility, the blooms that peak around Tomb-Sweeping Festival fall soon after.

IF YOU GO

Take the Beijing-Tibet expressway to the toll station of the Juyongguan Pass, turn around and go 500 meters downhill to the railway bridge.