Chameleon chrysanthemums to debut over national holiday

This year's National Day holiday flower decorations will feature two new varieties of chrysanthemum that change color, in flowerbeds in Tian'anmen Square and along Chang'an Avenue, reports Beijing Youth Daily.

Over 100,000 chrysanthemums in Beijing's Shunyi District are ready to be used as national holiday decorations [Photo: Beijing Youth Daily]

One variety will start out yellow and take on a pinkish hue. A second variety will turn from red to orange as time goes by.

According to Wang Zhongxuan, breeding engineer for the 'chameleon' chrysanthemums, the flowers will come into full bloom after four or five days, and create a beautiful display for about a month.

The flowerbed at Tian'anmen Square during the national holiday in 2016. [File photo: bj.bendibao.com]

Around 150 pots of each kind will be used. The chrysanthemums were hand-picked from over 40,000 different kinds of chrysanthemums.

Home grown chrysanthemums have been used as a street decoration since 2014.