The central Chinese province of Hunan has been helping send fresh flowers from Kenya to customers all over China and even to Uzbekistan as the country keeps rolling out favorable trade policies for African countries and steadily increasing import from the continent.
Hunan, as one of China's most active provinces in Sino-African trade, is capable of importing flowers from Nairobi within just about 17 hours.
The flowers in the store of Huang Zinan, a Chinese Kenyan flower dealer, maintained original fresh appearance even after traveling as far as 7,000 kilometers.
"Since last year we have been selling about 100,000 flowers monthly, mostly to 15 first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen," she said.
China completed its first entrepot trade for African flowers in July after 400 fresh roses from Kenya were sent to Uzbekistan from a comprehensive bonded area in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province.
"We can sell them to a third country or countries along the Belt and Road. By increasing trade, we can help create jobs for local farmers and the production of flowers will definitely grow as well," said Huang.
By late June, China has applied zero-tariff to 98 percent of taxable goods from 27 least developed countries in Africa. It also established "green lanes" for African agricultural exports to China and signed 22 protocols regarding the export of agricultural products to China with 14 African countries.
Currently, high-quality characteristic African products like aquatic products, honey, peanuts, soybeans, coffee, and fruit have been imported into Chinese market in a steady flow.
Hunan facilitates Kenyan flowers trade within China, internationally
Authorities in east China's coastal provinces Zhejiang and Jiangsu have launched emergency evacuation of residents to help mitigate the impact of Typhoon Bebinca -- the 13th typhoon of the year.
In Zhejiang's Pinghu City, communities have started the relocation work. The old town area of Xindai, home to about 1,400 permanent residents, including some 30 percent elderly, has been a focus of evacuation efforts.
Over 50 elderly residents have been evacuated to a temporary courtyard shelter, where they have plenty of space for meals and walking around. The shelter is equipped with folding beds, food, drinking water and medical staff standing by to address any health concerns.
The province also raised its emergency response for typhoon prevention to level II.
In Jiangsu Province, Nantong City has conducted comprehensive safety inspections and organized evacuations in key areas.
Nantong's Rugao Port on the Yangtze River was shutdown on Sunday afternoon.
All workers at the Zhangjiagang-Jingjiang-Rugao Bridge construction site -- located at a river shoal -- are evacuated ahead of the storm attack.
"From the temporary ferry to the Rugao-Zhangjiagang ferry, we have evacuated a total of 428 people. So far, all construction personnel of the Zhangjinggao Bridge within the scope of this construction site have been evacuated to our shelter," said Ding Xiaoxing, chief engineer of Rugao Water Affairs Department.
Authorities in Nantong has evacuated more than 1,400 people and over 200 vessels along the coastal area under its jurisdiction.
Making landfall in Shanghai on Monday morning, Typhoon Bebinca is the most powerful tropical cyclone directly hitting the Chinese financial hub in more than seven decades.
Zhejiang, Jiangsu evacuate residents as Typhoon Bebinca lands in east China
