Source: chinaculture.org

01-17-2008 17:35

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.