Flower sales, prices bloom on festival arrival
( 2004-01-23 10:58) (eastday.com)
The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year which
kicked off yesterday, warms up the flower market in Shanghai, boosting up sales
and prices.
People walk under
rows of Chinese traditional red lanterns at Shanghai's Yu Garden. Flower
sales in Shanghai have soared as demands growed dramatically during the
Chinese Lunar New Year holiday. [AFP] | Daily
sales at a flower store in the city's Jingwen Flower Market has shot up from the
normal 15,000 stalks to 40,000 each day. The store's owner, who declined to
identify himself, expects the business to see a further jump next week on
arrival of the festival.
Calyx canthus, plums and orchids are among the most popular flowers, the
owner said.
The buying enthusiasm has also pushed up flower prices, the owner added.
Price of lily, for example, has soared to around 30 yuan (US$3.6) each piece
from the normal 10 yuan.
To shy away from the crowded flower market, many local people have turned to
the Internet to buy flowers, the Eastday report said.
www.jwhy.com, a local online flower
retailer, receives more than 10,000 clicks these days, with purchasing orders
nearing 1,000.
While most of the online orders are for flowers on the New Year's Eve and the
New Year's day, some others are for the website's gift payment cards, which are
sent to the orderers' friends who will then choose flowers by their own on the
Internet.
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