Office worker Ms. Wang stopped at a subway flower vending machine on her way home from work, picking up a small bouquet of double-petaled chrysanthemums for 9.9 yuan ($1.37). "The flowers are so soothing after a busy day at work," she said.
Flower vending machines have recently appeared in subway stations across Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing and Shenyang, offering convenient access to fresh flowers.
The trend reflects a growing national interest in flowers, with Dounan in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, serving as the hub of the country's flower industry. Known as the "flower capital of Asia," Dounan hosts the largest fresh-cut flower market on the continent and the second largest worldwide.
The Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center in Dounan is Asia's largest flower auction market. During the first quarter of this year, it auctioned 360 million stems of fresh-cut flowers, averaging over 4 million stems daily. These flowers are distributed throughout China and exported to more than 50 countries and regions, including Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Russia and Australia.
Read more at People's Daily Online
