Visitors stroll around the Dounan Flower Market in Kunming, Yunnan province, on Jan 31. CHEN XINBO/XINHUA

Livestreamers and merchants start work early every morning surrounded by the rainbow of flowers on sale at the bustling Dounan Flower Market in Kunming, Yunnan province.

"I present flowers to my audience on livestreaming platforms, and I also communicate with foreign companies about exports," said Hua Ren, who comes from a family of florists and has been engaged in the sale of flowers for over a decade.

"Southeast Asia has a high demand for potted plants and flowers, of which we have a steady supply," Hua said, adding that he has sensed a gradual rebound in the market and imported about a million orchid seedlings last year.

As Asia's largest fresh-cut flower trade market and a reliable national barometer, the Dounan Flower Market exports to 40 countries and regions. Between Jan 1 and the Lantern Festival on Feb 5, the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center in Dounan experienced a surge in trade, with prices of items such as single roses increasing compared to the same period in 2019.

KIFA's trade volume climbed to 11.6 million during the Spring Festival holiday, and the trade volume of cut flowers in Dounan was approximately 77.56 million, with a turnover of 100 million yuan ($14.7 million). There was a daily average of 20,000 visitors to Dounan during the period, according to the management committee of the Kunming Dounan International Flowers Industrial Park.

Buyers bid for flowers at the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center in Dounan on Feb 1. CHEN XINBO/XINHUA

In the KIFA auction hall, buyers from all over the country quickly decide whether they should bid for flowers based on the varieties, grades and prices displayed on a trading screen.

When the auction is over, the flowers are packaged before being dispatched to cities across China or abroad.

"The increasing number of weddings and opening ceremonies continue to boost the market, and Valentine's Day is expected to be another sales peak," said Li Qian, an auctioneer at KIFA. The KIFA price index for cut flowers peaked at 598 points this year, up from 440 points in January. "Both in terms of volume and price, we can see that the market has recovered significantly," Li said.

Dounan's logistics system has also been upgraded to include transportation options such as air and high-speed rail.

"A quarter of my flowers are sold online," said florist Zhang Kua-ping, who has regular customers in Shanghai, Nanjing in Jiangsu province and Guangzhou in Guangdong province who now order on a monthly basis. "I match different flowers according to their preferences and deliver by air."

A trader sells flowers through livestreaming at the market on Feb 14. JIANG WENYAO/XINHUA