The Flower Fair in Guangzhou
When the Spring Festival approaches, the streets and fairs in Guangzhou bustle with people shopping and florists from suburban areas setting up temporary shacks for
the flower fair.
Guangzhou is known for its flower fair held annually during the Spring
Festival. The origin of flower fairs can be traced back 500 years. From then on,
flower fairs were held in Guangzhou during the Spring Festival every year. There
is an old saying there, "No flower fairs, no Spring Festival."
The fair in the center of the city is one of Guangzhou's six major flower
fairs. The streets are decorated with fragrant and beautiful fresh flowers,
golden tangerines, and elegant miniature landscapes, looking like rivers of
flowers in the distance.
The flower fair usually starts three days before the Spring Festival. The New
Year's Eve is the climax of flower market, when huge crowds of people surge to
the street. It is customary for most of the families to visit the fair after the
reunion dinner on the New Year's Eve and buy a potted tree with tangerines
hanging on it. The tangerine symbolizes good luck and wealth to the local people
and the chrysanthemum symbolizes longevity.
Whether it is a "money" tree, cherry blossoms, or sweet olive plumes, plants
and flowers all signify the blossoming of the New Year. This is an area of
strong visual impact and cultural significance for the visitors. In the fair,
there will be traditional Chinese performances, face painters, painting and
calligraphers.
Three of the most significant flowers are described
below.
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