Nodal segments (5 mm in length) with apical buds excised from in vitro plantlets of Rosa chinensis Jacq. ‘Old Blush’ were precultured on a semi-solid Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 0.3 M sucrose for 12 days at 4°C in darkness. Shoot tips (1.5-2.5 mm) excised from the nodal segments were treated with loading solution for 20 min, and placed in the plant vitrification solution 2 for 60 min at 0°C, finally rapidly plunged into liquid nitrogen for 1 h. After rapid warming in water-bath at 37°C for 1 min, the shoot tips were washed with unloading solution for 10 min twice at 25°C. The highest survival rate of shoot tips was 88.4% tested by 2,3,5-Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining. Shoot tips cryopreserved by the optimal protocol were plated on the semi-solid MS medium without plant growth regulators and transferred to darkness for 14 days prior to exposure to the light for the following 30 days. The regrowth rate was 43.3%. This vitrification procedure was successfully applied to 7 other varieties of Chinese old roses and the survival rate tested by 2,3,5-Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining ranged from 73.3% to 97.0%, the regrowth rate ranged from 26.7% to 45.6%. Our research demonstrates that the procedure is a promising technique for cryopreservation of shoot tips from in vitro-grown plantlets of Chinese old roses.