Cherry blossoms online after virus closes parks

With severe travel restrictions in China during the coronavirus outbreak, it seemed that most people would miss this year's cherry blossom season. Botanical gardens in Shanghai remain closed to contain the virus that has caused the COVID-19 disease, but you can still enjoy them on the internet.

Officials have set up online tours so people can get a glimpse of the flowers in their own homes.

Since it shut on January 24, Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Garden has started sharing photos and videos on Chinese social media platforms, such as Weibo and Douyin, the internal Chinese version of TikTok.

During the live streaming, botanists lead viewers around the Garden and share their knowledge of the flora.

Across an area of 6,000 square meters, Kawazu-Kakura, one of the major cherry blossom species and the earliest to bloom in Shanghai, is in full flower.

Officials said they would normally welcome around 100,000 tourists during cherry blossom season and this was a way that people could get a little self-help therapy at home.