Despite Covid-19 pandemic, insiders from China's floral industry say business is blooming. Our Yang Jinghao visits the country's largest flower market in southwest China's Yunnan to find out how the market might develop as the pandemic eases. 

YANG JINGHAO Kunming, Yunnan Province "This is the Dounan flower market in southwest China's Kunming city. It's one of the largest in the world. It's about 9 p.m. now, and as you can see, it's still bustling with people. Every day, millions of flowers are bought and sold here."

The market is considered a bellwether of China's floral industry. Wang Yangbin is a so-called "flower agent" here. He purchases flowers for retailers in different cities, mainly through auctions.

WANG YANGBIN Flower Agent "I've received a lot of orders from my clients compared to last year. The market is gradually getting back to normal."

He says in the past two years, they were often put in dilemma when clients in major purchasing cities dealt with Covid outbreaks.

WANG YANGBIN Flower Agent "For example, when a city was put under lockdown, the flowers we prepared for clients there wouldn't be transported as the logistics were disrupted."

But data from the Dounan market's management company shows the sector is bouncing back. In 2021, more than 8-point-3 billion flowers were traded here, hitting a record high.

And the company says it's working to help market participants boost their confidence.

QIAN CHONGJUN Executive President, Yunnan Dounan Flower Group "For those who trade flowers, we've introduced special insurance. With it, they will get compensation from the insurance company when the flower prices sharply drop for some reason."

Meanwhile, e-commerce transactions have begun to prosper. This company created a special platform five years ago, directly connecting flower farmers in Yunnan with retailers nationwide.

Last year, a trade volume of some 300 million yuan, or about 45 billion dollars, was generated from it.

YANG YANHONG Operation Manager, Kunming Huayibao Technology Company "We are considering selling Yunnan flowers to the world, or at least the neighboring southeast Asian countries. The need is growing and we are ready."

Many industry practitioners like Yang say that as people's incomes increase, the future will yield more opportunities for the floral industry.

YJH, CGTN, Kunming, Yunnan Province.