Source: https://mayphus.org/osmanthus/
Title: An osmanthus map with evidence, not promises
Metadata: {"category":"artifact","id":"osmanthus","kind":"artifact","language":"en","route":"/osmanthus/","tags":["maps","open-data"],"type":"project"}

# An osmanthus map with evidence, not promises

I wanted to find somewhere around Hangzhou to enjoy osmanthus without finding more people than flowers. A map helps compare destinations, but a marker alone cannot establish that flowers are open, crowds are light or the journey is easy.

## What the evidence can tell us

This public snapshot was compiled on October 12, 2026. It contains 19 destinations in Hangzhou, Keqiao, Jiaxing and Huzhou. The evidence distinguishes dated flowering observations, older flowering reports, seasonal recommendations and historical records of osmanthus trees. None establishes today's flowering conditions.

Crowds are a separate evidence stream. Manjuelong has an October 10 crowd observation. Shiwudong shares an approach corridor mentioned in that report; it is not a measurement of people inside its courtyard. Most other destinations have no reliable crowd-density evidence. Unknown does not mean quiet. Commercial footfall around Puyuan must not be treated as a count of visitors inside the old town.

## Explore the destinations

Use the numbered markers or the place selector to inspect a destination. Chinese names remain alongside English names for searching in local navigation apps. The basemap shows geographic context, not a route or a travel-time estimate. Positions are approximate entrances, landmarks or area centres, not precise flower-tree locations.

## How the data is used

Flowering and crowd evidence comes from news reporting, tourism recommendations and historical place records. Each destination retains its original source links and dates. OpenStreetMap and Mapcarta provide position references. Coordinates are EPSG:4326, in longitude–latitude order; the basemap projects them to Web Mercator without a GCJ-02 or BD-09 offset.

Article photographs are not reproduced. A linked photograph may be a historical environment reference, and its capture date may differ from its publication date. Original Chinese evidence and location notes remain available in each destination's details and in the complete public JSON.

No verified academic flowering model, live flower count, weather forecast or crowd counter is incorporated. The 90/120-minute planning targets are preferences, not calculated journeys: all 19 drive-time estimates are missing. Search by place name in domestic navigation apps rather than mixing WGS84 coordinates with GCJ-02 or BD-09.

At Daxianglin, the lower Xianglin Huayu grove and the reported flowering location beside Longhua Temple are different areas. A report about one must not become a live flowering claim for the other.

## A bounded prototype

This version preserves traceable evidence and uncertainty instead of ranking destinations as “best”, “quietest” or “in bloom now”. Before travelling, check newer flower reports, park notices, entrances, ticket types and current traffic. The map helps compare locations; it cannot replace current local information.

[Complete public data snapshot](/osmanthus/snapshot.json) · [OpenStreetMap attribution and licence](https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright) · [Report a map issue](https://www.openstreetmap.org/fixthemap)