Ancient lotus blooms at Old Summer Palace

A lotus flower grown from a seed that had lain dormant underground for more than a hundred years bloomed at Beijing’s Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, last week.

The blooming lotus has attracted visitors and photographers eager to appreciate the beauty from the past and celebrate its miraculous rebirth.

In 2017, 11 lotus seeds were discovered at a pond in Yuanmingyuan during an archaeological dig. They had been underground for more than a hundred years, according to archaeologists’ preliminary estimates.

Li Xiangyang, deputy director of Yuanmingyuan’s administrative office, said it was the first time ancient lotus seeds had been discovered since archaeological excavation work began at the Old Summer Palace, and they would provide a reference for research on its culture and history.

In order to identify the exact age of the ancient lotus seeds, staff sent three of them to Peking University for carbon-14 testing, with the results expected in September.

Another eight lotus seeds were transferred to a research team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Botany last year for experimental cultivation. Six sprouted, grew leaves and took root in the laboratory.

Institute staff member Zhang Huijin said the ancient lotus seeds had been hibernating because they were buried in peat soil with a low temperature, low humidity and little microbial interference. Their hard shells also helped prevent water and air from going in or out.

“Although we have awakened their growth, we still face difficulties in cultivation as ancient lotuses had a slower growth rate and later flowering time,” Zhang said. “Besides, they cannot grow well in a pot.”

In April, researchers decided to transplant four of the plants to a more natural growing environment in Yuanmingyuan’s lotus pools. Staff at Yuanmingyuan designated four pools for the cultivation of the lotuses and took great care of them.

“We didn’t expect the lotuses to grow so well after they left the greenhouse and came back to Yuanmingyuan,” said Zhao Aimei, who works at the Old Summer Palace.

Zhang said that besides the ancient lotuses in Yuanmingyuan, the institute has also successfully cultivated ancient lotuses unearthed in other cities, including Dalian in Liaoning province and Kaifeng in Henan province. The oldest lotus to have been revived could date back 1,000 years.