Tourists flocked to the Dounan Flower Market in southwest China's Yunnan Province during the National Day Holiday which kicked off on Tuesday.
The Dounan Flower Market is the largest fresh-cut flower market in Asia and the second largest worldwide. It sells over 1,600 varieties of fresh-cut flowers under 117 categories.
Wearing flower crowns and holding bunches of flowers, tens of thousands of tourists across the country are wandering in this colorful market to pick the flowers they like.
"It's the first time for me to see such a large flower market. It's so magnificent!" said a tourist surnamed Liu from Shanghai.
The number of people visiting flower market on the first day of the seven-day holiday has climbed to nearly 500,000, driving up sales of flowers.
"The number of visitors come to my stall has soared since the beginning of the National Day Holiday as the sales jump," said Jin Taiyu, a seller at the flower market.
Sales of the stall would usually triple to about 20,000 yuan (around 2,837.04 U.S. dollars) per day during the holidays like the National Day Holiday, Jin said.
Flower companies in Yunnan are taking this opportunity by designing new flower-related products to captivate more customers.
In a flower company in Yunnan, employees are arranging special flower bouquets, which are smaller than the usual ones to ensure customers can carry them more easily.
Other flower-related products including preserved fresh flowers, known for their longevity compared to fresh blooms, are accessible for tourists visiting famous tourist destinations in Yunnan, so that they can buy them as souvenirs.
Flower market in China’s Yunnan sees booming business during National Day Holiday
A new China Global Television Network (CGTN) documentary explores how the historic Long March spirit is driving modern innovation, as young Chinese researchers and engineers are channeling this relentless drive to overcome critical bottlenecks in the EV and AI industries.
Titled "The Source of AI: Not a Single Rock Goes to Waste", the documentary highlights the pioneering journeys of Zhong Yu and He Pengyu.
Two years ago, Zhong made a pivotal career shift, leaving a long-established automaker to return to China and join Farasis Energy, a homegrown battery manufacturer based in Ganzhou City of east China's Jiangxi Province.
Working around the clock, Zhong and his team are developing solid-state batteries. This next-generation technology promises higher energy density and enhanced safety, having the potential to completely disrupt the current automotive landscape.
Through his research, Zhong is determined to establish China as a global leader in the battery sector.
While Zhong focuses on the power sources of the future, He Pengyu is tackling the foundational raw materials required for the EV and AI boom.
The rapid expansion of these sectors has triggered a massive surge in demand for copper and rare earth elements. However, extracting and separating these valuable minerals from raw ore has long been a formidable technical hurdle.
Without advanced equipment, China's mining industry once relied on grueling, inefficient manual sorting.
Determined to change this paradigm after returning from his studies in France, He founded HPY Sorting. The company has developed a revolutionary AI-driven optical ore sorting system capable of automatically separating waste rock from valuable ore.
Processing up to 300 tons of ore per hour, this intelligent sorting technology is now deployed in mines across the world, replacing tasks that once relied on human experience with precision-driven algorithms and automated machinery.
He Pengyu hopes that through his innovation, not a single rock goes to waste.
The documentary is part of CGTN's "Breaking Through" series, which traces China's journey from the historic Long March undertaken by the Red Army nine decades ago to its modern-day achievements, highlighting the resilience, ingenuity, and determination of its people.
Long March spirit drives critical breakthroughs in China's EV, AI industries: documentary
