Among them was Yilin Schamburek, who has lived in Shanghai for six years. She said she loves the city and Chinese traditions such as Chinese New Year and the color red.

"I love how Shanghai combines the city with nature because it has a lot of parks and it's also really green," she said.

The 2026 Shanghai International Flower Show will run from April 18 to May 10, offering 23 days of floral displays and related activities.

The festival has two main venues — Shanghai Botanical Garden and Huangpu district — along with 10 sub-venues across Pudong New Area, Xuhui district, Jing'an district, Changning district, Fengxian district, the Lin-gang Special Area, Fuxing Island, Chenshan Botanical Garden, Binjiang Forest Park, and Gongqing Forest Park.

Events and installations will also extend into key commercial areas, parks, and green spaces across all 16 districts of the city.

Li Junfeng contributed to this story.