Fifteen years later, in 1999, Kunming opened Dounan Flower Trading Market, run by the Kunming Dounan Flower Co, and the Ministry of Agriculture designated it a national venue for the flower trade.

Yunnan is one of the three best places in the world to grow flowers, based on climate that keeps costs low and ensures year-round yields, says Zhang Li, general manager of Kunming International Flower Auction Co in Dounan.

"Some provinces have tried to grow flowers, but they need to spend more on protective measures. The climate in Yunnan provides the best temperature in China to grow plants."

Other cities such as Yuxi and Qujing in central Yunnan are also blessed with natural conditions that are favorable to growing flowers, and they have developed into an industrial cluster for the industry. These cities are also close to the Kunming airport, Zhang says. The airport connects to 139 Chinese cities and 41 countries, airport authorities say.

"Transport of flowers mainly relies on aircraft because they won't last more than four days from the time they are picked," Zhang says. "If they are not in the consumer's hand in that time, they're just trash."

In addition to being a center for the floral trade, Dounan has become a marketplace for agricultural materials, he says.

Dong Rui, deputy president of Dounan Flower Group, says there are more than 50 transport companies in Dounan to move the flowers and 100 companies to make floral products such as dried and decorative flowers.

Even though Yunnan usually basks in its moderately warm climate, the flower industry can be subject to extreme weather changes. Last winter, unusually low temperatures killed many flowers and compromised quality. As a result prices increased, but most farmers' income fell, and wholesalers had to pay 10 yuan, a high price, for one rose.

In Kunming, yields fell sharply after the heaviest snowfall in 10 years, with temperatures falling below zero, rare for Yunnan. Frost damaged flowers covering 9,330 hectares, about one-sixth of the province's total area, and inflicted direct economic losses of 228 million yuan, the Yunnan Department of Agriculture says.