Flower business blossoms amid social, cultural change

BEIJING - Chen Jingya, an accountant in Beijing, is perusing a list of gifts for Mother's Day, a western festival that is gaining popularity among young Chinese people.

Chen bought her mother cosmetics in 2011, a jade bracelet in 2012, and this year, apart from a handbag, she is also ordering a bouquet of carnations priced at about 200 yuan ($32.26).

"I usually select pragmatic gifts that my mother can either use or wear, but I think flowers can better express my love to her," Chen said.

Originating in the United States in the early 20th century, Mother's Day has evolved into a major flower-giving festival in China following Valentine's Day. Flower retailers have been rushing to offer customized bouquets with reported surging sales as the festival falls on Sunday.

Aishang, a flower shop on the popular e-commerce website Tmall, said it has sold nearly 3,000 carnation and lily bouquets, with prices ranging from just over 100 yuan to several hundreds of yuan.

The flower-buying fervor has highlighted a bigger social and cultural change: an increasing number of Chinese people have come to appreciate flowers as an everyday present and ornament, and are more willing to fork out cash on them.

Statistics show China's cultivated area of flowers increased to 1.02 million hectares, and the output of the industry reached 106.8 billion yuan at the end of 2011, making China a major production base and consumer market of flowers in the world.