Everybody wants to get a snap with the blossom

THE Swiss Cottage sakura trees have exploded into life, bringing with them hundreds of selfie-takers.

The cherry blossoms, which were planted as part of the 2006 regeneration of the area, have become a firm fixture in the tourist guide. Widely celebrated in Japanese literature, poetry and art, sakura bloom briefly and are often seen as a metaphor for the ephemeral beauty of living.

Among its admirers this week was Li-Hua, who said: “We knew to come here because we googled the website for best places to go for sakura. I am not so sure right now, as I don’t think it is such a nice day and it is cold and raining. Social media is telling us to come here. You won’t get it in this country but we have something called Little Red Book. Swiss Cottage sakura is very popular on Little Red Book.”

Little Red Book is a social media app not available in this country but billed as the answer to Instagram in China.

It allows users to share short videos and photos about fashion, beauty, food and travel. Its name is a nod to a famous book with the same name filled with quotes from Chairman Mao. Shu-hui, a student in London, said: “I think people like sakura because it is part of Japanese culture. Some people will go all the way home at this time of year to see the sakura. But some people won’t have to because they can come here.

“We came here because of social media and websites. The Little Red Book, too.”