BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Beijing will hold a cultural festival starting on May 17 to display about 1 million Chinese roses to the public, the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau has said.

The Chinese rose festival will present more than 2,000 varieties of the flower in 11 parks and gardening enterprises, such as Beijing Botanical Garden, Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park, and Nabobay gardening company.

During the floral gathering, various activities will be held like rose cultivation lectures, photo contests, rose-themed music parties and art exhibitions. Most of the events will last one month.

The Chinese rose is dubbed as "queen of flowers." It was declared as the city flower of Beijing together with the chrysanthemum in 1987, as it can be easily cultivated under the capital's climate.

Beijing boasts more than 2,500 varieties of Chinese rose with some 50 million plants. As an annual event, the Chinese rose festival was first held in 2009.