(Photo: China Daily)

Photo Gallery>>> BEIJING, July 28 -- Doing morning exercise at Hangzhou's beautiful West Lake with his beloved camera has been a daily routine for Li Guoqiang since he retired five years ago.

During summers, when the lotuses are blossoming on the famed lake, the amateur photographer is especially excited as the lotus is his favorite flower.

Yet nothing has excited more than the moment at 7:30 am last Saturday, when he noticed something strange with a lotus.

When jogging around the Xiling Bridge section of the lake that morning, a half pink and half white lotus caught Li's eye.

He said that seeing such a two-colored lotus was a real shock and didn't let the chance to photograph the rare bloom pass him by.

There are more than 15,000 lotuses on the West Lake, all of which are red, according to Hangzhou West Lake Water Area Administration.

This two-colored lotus was the first reported case of its kind at the West Lake, according to Sun Jian, an official from the lake water area administration.

"It may have been caused by some sort of nature-induced generic transformations," said Wei Ya, a plant genetic engineering researcher at the Fudan University's School of Life Sciences.

Factors such as ultraviolet rays, chemicals or extreme weather could trigger generic transformations in plants, Wei said.

"The possibility of (natural generic transformation) exists but it is very rare," the researcher said.

Blossoming lotuses are a famous attraction of the West Lake, more than 87,000 square meters of which is covered by the flower.

Lotus blossom, which usually occurs at the lake in late June or early July, has arrived 10 days later this year due to factors such as temperature and humidity, according to local meteorological station.

The two-colored lotus wilted by Monday afternoon due to rain and heat of the past two days.

The lake water area administration is going to preserve the seeds of the two-colored lotus and plans to plant them next year.

(Source: China Daily)