Jennifer Conrad

Alongside the roses, lilies and chrysanthemums sit rural workers de-thorning and arranging  flowers by hand. Within the Dounan Wholesale Flower Market, in Kunming's suburban Chenggong County, sellers offer you advice and steer you towards their favored flowers.

Starting around 2 am, buyers arrive at the market to inspect the offers spread throughout the 73-mu open-air space, with sellers ranging from large-scale operations to mom-and-pop growers. By late morning, most of the wholesale buyers have cleared out, and individ ......ld and about 70% are farmers with less access to higher education and updated information, this combat is much tougher than in smaller countries. We still have a long way to go, and we are working hard on this issue.”

Meanwhile, more and more sophisticated greenhouses are being built to grow flowers that will be shipped all over the world − or enjoyed by an ever more affluent local population. Despite the challenges, Yunnan's flower industry seems poised to continue blossoming.