China's flower markets boom as Spring Festival nears

Flower markets across China are bursting into vibrant life these days, as consumers hope to add a festive atmosphere at homes for the arrival of the nation's most important holiday, the Spring Festival, which falls on Jan 29 this year.

At the Beijing Flower Trading Center, the impressive display of flower wall at the entrance is composed by azaleas grown in Bijie City, southwest China's Guizhou Province, which is over 2,000 kilometers south from Beijing. Thanks to a special technology of flower control, these southern flowers are able to blossom in cold winter days in Beijing.

"Our expert team uses techniques, like temperature and humidity control, to simulate the conditions of the spring season. This allows the azaleas from Guizhou to bloom precisely for the Spring Festival market and meet Beijing consumers," explained Zhang Meijuan, an exhibitor at the Beijing Home Gardening Carnival.

In Guangzhou City, the Zengcheng District is home to 18 villages doing flower business, which has lifted over 1,500 villagers out of poverty. Their output value totaled 57 million yuan (about 7.8 million U.S. dollars) from nearly 133.3 hectares of planted area.

To bring convenience for both buyers and sellers, Guangzhou has launched an innovative flower treasurer map. By simply scanning a QR code, flower vendors and consumers can access comprehensive information on regional flower varieties, market locations, purchasing methods, and even precise details, like grower addresses, specific breeds, and quantities available.

"China is the world's largest flower grower and consumer. The flower planting area across the country is approximately 1.5 million hectares, while over 5 million people work in the flower industry which is truly activating new momentum for economic growth," said Yang Shuhua, director of the Department of Ornamental Horticulture at the Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

In Shenzhen, another city of Guangdong, 10 districts have opened its Spring Festival flower market. Among those, the one opened in Luohu District has set up seven major exhibition areas with 339 stalls. On Tuesday, the first day of the opening, the flower market attracted many locals and tourists.

"This flower market is very beautiful and lively. I even saw a Chaoshan Yingge Dance (a form of folk dance popular in Guangdong's Chaoshan area)," said a tourist from Hong Kong.

In Zhangzhou City of east China's Fujian Province, the Baihuacun flower trading market was filled with consumers who hoped to pick out their pots of orchid or daffodil these days. During this peak season, the market could have a daily sale of approximately 40 million yuan (about 5.5 million U.S. dollars) during this peak season.

"I came here to choose some suitable flowers as gifts. And the prices of flowers are also very affordable," said a local resident.

China's flower markets boom as Spring Festival nears

Marking China's 11th Space Day, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) introduced major space projects in the 15th Five-Year Plan period on Friday in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan in the southwest, the main venue of a series of events marking this day.

Jointly sponsored by the CNSA and the provincial government, the event revealed major sci-tech achievements and space industry updates, with Shan Zhongde, head of the CNSA, introducing China's major space projects to be implemented in the next five years.

"In the areas of entering space, utilizing space, exploring space, and governing space, we will intensify the efforts to carry out key projects including manned spaceflight, lunar probe, planetary probe, and the national satellite internet. We will pace up the demonstration and launch of a new generation of space-power initiatives such as heavy-lift rockets, reusable launch vehicles, and next-generation national space infrastructure. In the fields of lunar and planetary probe, asteroid defense, on-orbit service, and space debris mitigation, we will deepen international collaboration, build the International Lunar Research Station, have in-depth engagement in global space governance, and create an open and cooperative landscape for China's space industry to build a community with a shared future for mankind," Shan said.

The CNSA also released a series of updates marking the Space Day, including the latest lunar discoveries from the Chang'e-5 mission, two new minerals named magnesiochangesite-(Y) and changesite-(Ce), selected international partners for the Tianwen-3 Mars mission, announcement of international cooperation opportunities for the Xihe-2 mission, and the Version 1.0 of the Commercial Space Standards System.

On the same occasion, Xie Jun, deputy chief designer of the BeiDou system, Zhang Bing, member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and veteran astronaut Ye Guangfu, were appointed as the 2026 China Space Public Welfare Ambassadors.

More than 30 side events will take place across Chengdu during the Space Day period. Highlights include a space science exhibition at the Chengdu New International Convention and Exhibition Center, a VR sci-fi drama aimed at extending space knowledge, and the Space Wish Initiative launched by the China Media Group (CMG), inviting the public to share their stories related to space.

"We plan to put up over 30 activities in various forms with rich content for the Space Day to give people a feeling for the evolution and dynamism of China's space program. Aside from offering academic exchange platforms for professionals, we place more emphasis on engaging the public, particularly young people, in carrying forward the spirit and culture of space exploration," said Wang Cheng, secretary-general of the China Space Foundation.

Officials introduces space projects in 15th 5-Year Plan period