I’m sure you’ve all noticed the snowstorms of pollen these last few lovely days. That’s known as catkin, which is the flower of the very common willows and poplars around Beijing. It can be quite dramatic and cause coughing and eye irritation. But as for its allergic (hayfever) properties, I don’t see many more hayfever people coming into my clinic during these peak days of catkin. I started to see allergy symptoms about a month ago, when the other tree flowers (apple, cherry…) finally started to blossom. So far, the overall spring hayfever season seems fairly mild here.

On another note, I hope my longtime readers can bear with me these next few weeks! My blog output has obviously decreased and will continue to do so, as I’m preparing for my Masters of Public Health final exams in early June. In the meantime, enjoy the lovely weather before the summer heat kicks in; and I invite you to explore a little-used section of my website which discusses my favorite Beijing daytrips.