Wang Jingli

wangjingli07152163.com

AIGUO Road in Luohu District was bustling again with people shopping for Chinese New Year flowers and decorations yesterday morning as the highly anticipated Spring Festival Flower Fair 2023 officially opened.

The Aiguo Road flower fair, at the section between Huali Road and Yijing Road, will run until the Chinese New Year’s Eve (Saturday) as one of the 10 subvenues for this year’s Spring Festival Flower Fair.

Starting 1998, the Aiguo Road flower fair had become a fixed site for Shenzhen’s Spring Festival Flower Fair before it was closed in 2016. The flower fair thus became one of the most memorable events during the Spring Festival for citizens who have lived in the city for many years.

“I sold flowers here (Aiguo Road) when I was 13 years old. The flower market is undoubtedly flourishing. We came back to sell flowers not only for business but also for a special sentiment,” said a store owner surnamed Lin at a flower stall.

Lin told Shenzhen Daily that he sold over 10 potted phalaenopsis orchids, a staple for many people’s New Year decorations, within two hours after the flower fair opened at 10 a.m. yesterday.

Another flower stall owner surnamed Zhao suggested that the fair has attracted a good flow of visitors which has made him very confident about the sales in the coming seven days.

A citizen surnamed Ge was seen holding Chinese couplets at the Aiguo Road flower fair yesterday morning. Ge said that although she will go back to her hometown for the Chinese New Year, she still wants to decorate her home in Shenzhen before she leaves.

“The Chinese couplets are beautifully designed with a rabbit to mark the Year of Rabbit and cost-effective. I also plan to buy a peach blossom flower bunch at the fair,” said Ge.

The Aiguo Road flower fair this year has a total of 345 stalls. In addition to flower stalls, there are also stalls selling foods, traditional snacks, and intangible cultural heritage products.

At Haitian Road in Futian District (the road section between Shennan Boulevard and Fuhua Road), the main venue of this year’s Spring Festival Flower Fair, citizens can also admire beautiful flower installations when they visit the flower fair. Some of the installations feature a rabbit element to celebrate the upcoming Year of Rabbit. An archway decorated with over 100 flowers and plants as well as some 20,000 potted plants was placed at the entrance of the main venue.

To facilitate travels for citizens to visit flower fair venues across the city, Shenzhen Bus Group has launched five special bus routes including three that serve the Aiguo Road flower fair.

One of the routes starts at Caopu Xiawucun and passes through Zhuyuan Hotel (close to the Aiguo Road flower fair). Another route runs between Cuizhu Metro Station and the Aiguo Road flower fair (temporary station). The two routes will be in operation until Friday.

The third bus route runs between Liantang Wutongyuan Station and the Aiguo Road flower fair. It will be in operation until Saturday.

The other two bus routes serve travels to Shenzhen Hong Kong Flower Center in Nanshan District (services available until Saturday) and the UpperHills shopping mall in Futian District (services available until Friday).