Cotton tree flowers seemed anxious about the coming of spring, and have started blooming one by one on the branches on February 17, 2023, in Changjiang Li Autonomous County, South China's Hainan Province. (Photos: People's Daily/Shi Jiamin)

Statistics show that the county on China's southernmost island province has received about 285,500 tourists and earned 114 million yuan (about $16.7 million) during this year's week-long Spring Festival holiday.

The cotton tree is also known as red cotton tree. It is a tropical deciduous tree that has big reg flowers with five petals in spring before the new foliage appears on the branches. It gets its name from the capsule which contains white cotton-like fibers that it produces.

Cotton tree flowers seemed anxious about the coming of spring, and have started blooming one by one on the branches on February 17, 2023, in Changjiang Li Autonomous County, South China's Hainan Province.

Cotton tree flowers seemed anxious about the coming of spring, and have started blooming one by one on the branches on February 17, 2023, in Changjiang Li Autonomous County, South China's Hainan Province.

Cotton tree flowers seemed anxious about the coming of spring, and have started blooming one by one on the branches on February 17, 2023, in Changjiang Li Autonomous County, South China's Hainan Province.