The flower industry is finally getting back on track in southwest China's Yunan Province after it was hit by the COVID-19 epidemic in the first half of the year.
After missing the peak sales day of Valentine's Day in February, industry insiders are expecting record sales during the upcoming week-long National Day holiday, which starts on Oct. 1.

Zou Mingchuan, a flower grower in Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan - a major flower producer in China, went through a dark time when COVID-19 hit early this year.

Several months later, his business gradually got back to normal. Every morning, he transports his fresh-picked roses to Kunming's Dounan Flower Market, Asia's largest fresh cut flower trading market.

After the epidemic-induced closures, the market is finally up and running again. Benefiting from preferential measures from the market, and the high demand during last month's Qixi Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day on Aug. 25, the floral industry is once again gaining traction.

"I'll earn much less than last year, but I guess I won’t lose money. The whole industry is rebounding very quickly. I'm optimistic about the market for the rest of the year," said Zou.

The live-streaming sales craze is also helping the flower business, as sellers look to attract a wider range of customers from across the country.

Also, the company that owns the Dounan Market has developed an online platform called "Hua Shang Bao", which provides an online trading space and a new way of paying.

"Flower farmers will be able to sell their flowers in the market or have them auctioned, plus they can close deals on the Internet through our platform," said Qian Chongjun, CEO of Yunnan Dounan Flower Group.

However, for those specializing in imports and exports, challenges remain, and they have to change business strategy.

Lynch Group, a company headquartered in Australia, has had to switch its means of transportation from air to sea, which takes around three weeks. The difference in transportation time has also forced the company to come up with better ways to keep their flowers fresh longer.

"We've done a lot of work in terms of the variety of flowers, packaging, controlling the temperature, and the choice of ships, to ensure we can still export high-quality flowers from Kunming to Australia in bulk," said Dennis Lin, a staff member of Lynch Group.