Walking around the city these days, you might have noticed the cotton-like fuzz that's floating around. Spring time has come. For some, the floating pollen is an annoyance, causing incessant coughing, especially if one has severe allergies. For others, the spring snow is a pleasant reminder that the grass is green, the flowers are flowering, and that it’s time to get out and enjoy the weather.

After World War II, Beijing was short of trees, which protect air quality, provide much needed shade, and aesthetic pleasure. Poplars and willows were favored because of their fast growth and suitability for Beijing’s climate. The trees now constitute the majority of Beijing trees along with the Chinese scholartree.

If spring is the season of love, Beijing’s spring snow perhaps ushers it in. As Beijing moves from freezing winter into temperate spring in April and May, poplar and willow trees blossom and the catkins of the trees burst, releasing white fuzz that covers the Beijing sky. Poplar and Willow trees have male and female varieties. The catkins, which come from male trees, are released to pollinate female trees. Perhaps love is truly in the air. Many people note how the fluff gives a romantic atmosphere, particularly if one walks around places like Wei Ming Hu at Peking University. Couples come out to enjoy the beautiful trees and more often than not, to embrace a spring time kiss.

The catkins have a presence in Chinese literature also. The catkins were associated with the coming of spring as illustrated in this poem by Madame Chang from the Tang Dynasty:

Willow Floss

Thick with mists,
this sweet new day
in spring.

A snow of catkins
lifts from greening withes.

They pass over goblets,
float in clear emerald wine or brush onto bed-drapes,
and stitch their
designs on dark red heavy silk.

As in ancient China’s past, the catkins are unavoidable. It is hard during this time not to avoid the white lint as it stifles driving conditions and breathing. Many Beijingers are complaining about the annual affair. The government is taking notice too and has instituted programs to replace the allergy inducing trees with ginkos, which do not produce catkins and also have medicinal value. The days of romantic snowfall might be a thing of the past within a few years and with it, relief for those that are used to runny noses and watery eyes. Willows are a traditional symbol of departure, as the word for willow, liu, is a homonym for the Chinese word “leaving” and so perhaps one of Li Bai’s poems might be most suitable for our departing arborous friends:

A wind, bringing willow-cotton, sweetens the shop,
I say to him in parting,
Oh, go and ask this river running to the east
If it can travel farther than a friend's love!

(Jonathan Hwang for China.org.cn April 21, 2008)