​In traditional Chinese lunisolar calendars, each of the 24 solar terms in a year is divided into three pentads (候 hòu). Each pentad, usuallly five days long, corresponds to certain phenological phenomena.

The first pentad of Chunfen (the Spring Equinox, the Vernal Equinox) is the time for the blooming of the crabapple.

This year's Spring Equinox is March 20. Around the day, all the crabapple trees in the Daming Lake scenic area in Jinan came into full bloom, attracting many tourists.

The crabapple has been one the traditional famous flowers in China, honored as “fairly of the flowers”, “imperial concubine of the flowers”, “national beauty”, etc.