Cherry Blossom Nights

SHANGHAI — After unusually warm weather descended on eastern China earlier this week, Shanghai residents dodged the sun’s rays by extending their annual sakura photo shoots well into the night.

The result was an almost-carnivalesque atmosphere that could be felt across the city. At Gucun Park, revelers in full cosplay drank coffee and snapped selfies underneath augmented-reality trees — part of the park’s immersive “Butterfly and Blossom” exhibit. At Chenshan Botanical Garden, visitors took advantage of extended hours to eat hot pot and wander the grounds, which seemed to glow against the night sky. And at Century Park, residents kept cool by snapping up sakura-flavored ice cream.

Even after a spring storm washed away many of the blossoms Thursday morning, the crowds were still enough to make one visitor wonder aloud whether anyone in the city still had a job.

Here are some of the best photos from a city in bloom, as selected by Sixth Tone.

Contributions: Qian Yi, Chen Yiru, and Ding Yining.