Flower sellers across China are seeing their auspicious varieties sought after by customers who began to decorate their home in the run-up to the traditional Spring Festival.
Colorful bromeliads and butterfly orchids are typically seen as lucky symbols for the new year, and this year in flower markets across China, they are in plenty supply as usual.
In Luohe City, central China's Henan Province, flower farmers said butterfly orchids are now the prime choice for customers coming to pick a plant to decorate their houses and many of them said they choose butter orchids because of their bright colors.
"The Spring Festival is just around the corner and I've come to buy some potted flowers to decorate my home. Butterfly orchids have bright colors, so I plan to put some of them in my home to warm up the atmosphere for the near year," said Luo Xiaobei, a customer.
Boxes of potted bromeliads are also sent to south China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster from Ganzhou City of east China's Jiangxi Province. The auspicious plants have a long flowering period and are thus highly welcomed on the market.
The rising demand is at the same time fueling the development of flower cultivation technologies. In Hangzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, butterfly orchid farmers have been cooperating with universities and research institutes to develop new varieties and technologies and they said that annual sales of the flower reached over 200 million yuan (over 27 million U.S. dollars) over the recent years.
"Technologies are used to promote flower induction and to prevent and control pests and plant diseases. We have also made the pots with more permeable materials and are using air-conditioners to simulate the natural environment so that we can induce flowering throughout the whole year and ensure plenty supply to the market," said Zhu Guangchang, a butterfly orchid farmer.
The upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year falls on Jan 29, 2025, with an eight-day public holiday running from Jan 28 to Feb 4.
Auspicious flowers win favor of Chinese customers as Spring Festival draws near
The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 45,658, with 108,583 others injured, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Friday.
In the past 24 hours alone, at least 77 people were killed and 145 others were injured in Gaza, according to the statement.
Israeli airstrikes targeted Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday, killing seven people, including four children. Several others were injured, some of whom are in critical condition.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military has threatened medical teams, patients, and staff at Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, warning that the facility will be bombed unless they evacuate immediately.
The Hamas-run media office reported on Friday that the Israel Defense Forces continue to destroy hospitals in northern Gaza, leaving approximately 40,000 Palestinians without access to medical services.
On the same day, the Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Amy Pope, stated that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened due to freezing winter temperatures and recent rainfall. Meanwhile, humanitarian aid entering the region remains severely limited, leaving residents in urgent need of shelters and other essential supplies.
According to a UN report released in mid-December last year, at least 945,000 Gazans are in urgent need of winter items such as warm clothing, blankets, and tarpaulins.
The IOM has reiterated its call for all parties involved in the conflict to immediately cease fire, release detainees, protect Gaza's civilians, and ensure the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid.
Hamas confirmed on Friday that indirect negotiations with Israel have resumed in Doha, Qatar, with the goal of achieving a complete ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, Hamas said that the latest round of talks is expected to focus on achieving a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, securing the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and facilitating the safe and prompt return of displaced Palestinians to their homes.
Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 45,658
Palestinian death toll from Israeli attacks in Gaza rises to 45,658
