The 12th Shanghai Lotus and Waterlily Exhibition kicked off on Monday, showcasing more than 500 types of lotus flowers and more than 100 varieties of waterlilies. Five parks across the city are participating to provide nature lovers with a blooming exploration of flowers.

During the event, visitors can enjoy a newly registered variety of lotus in the Shanghai Guyi Garden in Jiading district, the main venue of the exhibition. They can also indulge in the graceful waterlilies while enjoying live music pop-ups and artisan markets at Zhabei Park in Jing'an district, unlocking more fun in the city during scorching days.

Zuibaichi Park in Songjiang district, Huangxing Park in Yangpu district, and the Shanghai Expo Culture Park in Pudong New Area are also part of the festival scheduled to last through mid-August.

Within Shanghai Guyi Garden, over 500 lotus varieties in more than 2,000 pots are displayed. Among them, 10 are making their Shanghai debut. Over 150 waterlily varieties in 320 pots are exhibited, including four night-blooming varieties and eight making their China debut. Visitors can appreciate the new, exceptional varieties of lotus flowers on the main lawn, including the bowl lily and mini waterlilies in the bonsai garden.

In the middle of the main lawn, a new internationally registered variety of lotus made its stunning appearance, which seemed even more delicate against the backdrop of the foggy forest and wooden paths. Experts explained that this variety is a single-petaled, bowl-shaped flower with a dark pink bloom that becomes a little lighter each day. It will eventually have a variety of colors, including yellow and white inside, and red at the petals' tips.

Visitors will see a variety of colorful lotuses surrounding this special lotus, along with rare varieties of orange lotus flowers, thousand-petal lotus flowers, and fragrant floral varieties.

Chen Yanyan, vice-director of Shanghai Guyi Garden, says the flowering period is about 10 days late this year due to the weather. The lotus flowers in the garden are gradually blooming and are expected to reach full bloom after mid-July.

Night-blooming waterliles will be displayed at the exhibition's main venue and Huangxing Park. Chen says that such waterlilies are tropical varieties and usually come in large sizes with rich colors on the leaves and flowers.

"These waterlilies usually bloom from 7 pm to 10 am the next day, which is perfect for nighttime viewing," she says.

Each sub-venue has unique highlights — the Shanghai Expo Culture Park will feature handicraft courses, and Huangxing Park will be open around the clock to cater to nighttime visitors. There a night market brings together cultural and creative handicrafts, parent-child interactive activities, and special dishes, such as lotus leaf tea and lotus seed cake.

Zhang Wenjun contributed to this story.