Winter jasmine blossoms in Hangzhou.

On the vines of Tongjian Lake in early spring, winter jasmine is the first to break free from the cold. Clusters of tender yellow meander along the lakeshore, dyeing the grayish-brown of winter into a vibrant golden ribbon. Small, six-petaled flowers droop like bells, their slender stems bearing the lingering morning frost, trembling slightly in the lake breeze. A boat cuts through the turquoise waves, shattering the reflected flowers into tiny golden specks that ripple towards the bluestone revetment. As dusk stains Qixia Peak, the returning boat carries a half-cabin of fragmented golden ripples, quietly disappearing into the thickening spring mist.