Prunus tomentosa is commonly known as Nanking cherry and is native from northern and western China down to Tibet and Kashmir, and features white to pale-pink flowers in early spring on a shrubby bush. The very small red fruit, when ripe, are too astringent for people to eat, but birds love them.

When Carl Thunberg first described this species, most Western citizens were not allowed to travel beyond a few trade entrepots—Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai—and relied upon Chinese entrepreneurs to bring them Chinese garden plants for purchase; ergo, the common name that celebrates the city of origin of the trader but not necessarily the species. The species name, tomentosa, refers to the downy (tomentose) young shoots.