Floriculture blooms on Valentine's Day

KUNMING - For every 10 flowers sold on Friday, Chinese Valentine's Day, at least seven were from Dounan, a suburb of Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, with prices determined by a live auction.

From 3 pm until late at night, the 900-seat trading hall was filled during the auction for cut flowers at the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center (KIFA) in Dounan, one of the largest of its kind in Asia.

Yuan Fuwang, a florist, kept a close eye on the trading screen where deals are made between flickers of numbers. Dealers either sigh or shout over the prices, waiting anxiously to sell their carefully planted beauties.