JANVI TOURS

Guangzhou is known for its flower fair held annually during the Spring Festival. The fair in the centre of the city is one of Guangzhou's six major flower fairs. The streets are decorated with fragrant and beautiful fresh flowers, golden tangerines, and elegant miniture landscapes, looking like rivers of flowers in the distance. If we connected the flower stalls, there would be a flower street stretching for miles.

With a warm and wet climate, Guangzhou has fresh flowers all year round. When the Spring Festival approaches, the streets and fairs bustle with people shopping and florists from suburban areas setting up temporary shacks for the flower fair. The origin of flower fairs can be traced back 500 years. From then on, flower fairs were held in Guangzhou during the Spring Festival every year. There is an old saying there, "No flower fairs, no Spring Festival."

The flower fair usually starts three days before the Spring Festival. The New Year's Eve is the climax of flower market, when huge crowds of people surge to the street. It is customary for most of the families to visit the fair after the reunion dinner on the New Year's Eve and buy a potted tree with tangerines hanging on it. The tangerine symbolizes good luck and wealth to the local people and the chrysanthemum symbolizes longevity. Whether it is a "money" tree, cherry blossoms, or sweet olive plumes, plants and flowers all signify the blossoming of the New Year. This is an area of strong visual impact and cultural significance for the visitors.

Three of the most significant flowers are described below:

Peach Blossoms

Blossoms are particularly auspicious flowers. Coming as they do in spring they symbolize life, growth and prosperity. The peach blossom is the most auspicious of all plants, its significance lying in the symbolic importance of the peach. The peach, in Chinese culture, is a symbol of long life, and is regarded as the strongest defence against evil. Should your peach blossom bloom during the New Year celebrations it is sure sign that the year ahead will be one of good fortune. Sprays of peach blossom at one time they were placed above front doors to prevent even the strongest evil spirit from getting into the house. The custom today is to use them as decorations within the house.

Kumquat Tree

This is a play on word. In Chinese the kumquat is called "jin qian ju". The word "jin" rhymes with the Chinese word for gold, "qian" means money and the word "ju" rhymes with the Chinese word for luck. The tiny green leaves of this plant symbolize wealth as the word "lu" (green) rhymes with the Chinese word for wealth. Finally the shape of the small oranges are a symbol of unity and perfection.

Peony

The peony is called the "flower of riches and honor" in Chinese, and is the emblem of love and affection, as well as being a symbol for feminine beauty. The bright red peony is particularly auspicious, bringing with it luck and good fortune.

The ten districts in Guangzhou will present their distinctive flower fairs.

Yuexiu District 
Yuexiu flower fair, with the longest history in Guangzhou, will give the public a deep insight of Guangzhou's history, culture and custom. 
Where:
Venue 1. The crossing of Xihu Road and Jiaoyu Road (西湖路和教育路交界)
Venue 2. Dashatou 3rd Road (大沙头三马路)

Haizhu District 
Haizhu's flower street has an incomparable view of the Pearl River, which is the other flower fairs in Guangzhou can't provide. 
Where: Binjiang Road West (the section between Renmin Bridge and Jiefang Bridge), 
滨江西路（人民桥至解放桥路段）
Baogang Avenue (the section between Binjiang Road and Nanhua Road) 
宝岗大道（滨江路至南华路段）

Liwan District
People can buy a lot of traditional stuffs in Liwan's flower fair, including Chinese painting and calligraphy, couplets, traditional Chinese stationery. The art of tea and Liwan specialties make the fair a unique cultural charm. There also will be traditional Liwan performances in the fair. 
Where: Liwan Road (荔湾路)

Tianhe District
Tianhe flower fair will combine modern elements with traditional culture of flower fair. 
Where: Tianhe Sports Center (天河体育中心)

Baiyun District
The flower fair has moved to the former site of Baiyun Airport this year. After a few years of renovation, the site has become a new tourist sensation. 
Where: Gate 5 Mall, Yuncheng Road West (云城西路5号停机坪购物广场旁)

Huangpu District
Huangpu flower fair is the only one reserving a space for mandarin oranges. The mandarin orange lovers absolutely can't miss it. 
Venue 1 
Where: Huangpu Sports Center (黄埔体育中心正门广场) 
Venue 2
Where: Huangpu Library (黄埔图书馆)

Panyu District:
Where: Guangchang Road West, Guangchang Road East, Dongxing Road (广场西路，广场东路，东兴路)

Huadu District
Besides flowers, Cantonese opera, acrobatics, singing, dancing and other performances will be introduced in Huadu's flower fair. 
Where: Guangzhou Flower Wholesale Market, Furong Avenue (芙蓉大道中广州花卉之都内)

Luogang District:
Where: Qingnian Road (青年路)