The floral economy, formerly a simple seasonal attraction, is now established as a powerful development lever.
Flower fishing in the village of Gala, in Nyingchi (Xizang), April 6, 2025 (photo: Yu Jie)
Twenty years ago, the emblematic destinations to admire the spring flowers in China were counting on the fingers of one hand: the rapeseed fields of Wuyuan (Jiangxi), the peonies in Luoyang (Henan), the cherry trees from Yuantouzhu to Wuxi (Jiangsu) or even Nyingchi flowers (Xizang). Today, the situation has changed.
The regions have indeed understood how to transform these ephemeral landscapes into real development levers. By integrating tourism, culture and agriculture, they gave flowers a value far beyond their fleeting beauty. What was once only a seasonal attraction is now a sustainable source of economic activity. Visitors no longer only come to see, but to live these landscapes through immersive activities.
Spring outings
Liu Feng, 26, resident of Zhengzhou, knows the power of floraisons well on his travel choices. At the end of April 2024, his visit to the Jinci temple in Taiyuan coincided with the brilliant flowering of a catpah 1,300 years old. This year, it was in May that it will take back the way to this historic site, attracted by the images of a sea of peonies, roses and Chinese roses shared on Xiaohongshu (Chinese social network platform).
This attraction for floral landscapes is not trivial. While many cities have seen their tourist attendance drop after the spring party, some places where spring wakes up early have continued to attract visitors. In Hangzhou, early chimonanthe flowers have maintained effervescence.
QUNAR, a very influential online travel platform, reveals that the number of searches related to the floral hike between February and early March 2025 more than tripled compared to the previous year. Fliggy, tourist service platform, reports a five -attention multiplication of Internet users for this activity since March, with Hangzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Chongqing and Chengdu at the top of the research.
This trend is also observed in travelers’ behavior. Zhao XI, a resident of Beijing, is an illustration of this. For the second consecutive year, he chose to spend the Qingming holidays in the Jizhou borough, attracted by his blooming pear. “Urban parks are often crowded, which spoils the experience,” he explains. Preferring more quiet landscapes, his family opted for a mountain inn, surrounded by hundred -year -old pear trees. An ideal setting for photos in traditional costume, far from the crowd.
The figures recently published by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism testify to the dynamism of the Chinese tourism sector during the Qingming holidays. With 126 million interior trips in three days, an increase of 6.3 % compared to 2024, and tourist revenues reaching 57.55 billion yuan (+6.7 %), this period confirms the growing attraction for spring getaways.
The flower crown, a popular accessory from the village of Xunpu in Quanzhou (Fujian), attracted many tourists on March 9, 2025.
Petals and profits
Everywhere in China, destinations compete in ingenuity to transform these ephemeral landscapes into levers of sustainable development.
In Shanyang (Shandong), the 16th Poirier Flowers Festival illustrates this dynamic. The picturesque area of Bolushan, which now attracts more than 100,000 visitors per year, has created a complete economic ecosystem around this festival. Beyond the traditional incomes linked to entrances and catering, reaching nearly ten million yuan, the villagers have developed a real valuation of the floraisons. Innovation manifests itself in original culinary creations such as dumplings stuffed with pear flowers and cakes with petals, while cultural products such as pear wood hair pins enrich the offer. This approach makes it possible to attract visitors, create jobs and significantly increase the income of rural populations.
Beyond their ephemeral beauty, floral landscapes have become the fertile soil of a plural economy. The “flowers +” approach is no longer content to offer a natural spectacle, but cultivates a complete tourist experience where each petal carries in it the germ of economic opportunities. This qualitative mutation feeds on constant innovations: picking, charming inns, or workshops highlighting the heritage. These initiatives transform the simple visit into lasting immersion, as evidenced by the explosion of 120 % of the interest in the circuits combining floral hike and cultural heritage.
The figures speak for themselves: reservations in rural tourism in spring 2025 jumped by 52 %, rural areas hosted 707 million tourists, generating 412 billion yuan in revenue. More than a passenger craze, it is an entire ecosystem that flourishes, employing 7.12 million people (up 2.2 % over a year).
Examples flourish across the country: the labyrinth of rapeseed flowers in the Tonglu district (Zhejiang), the rapeseed flower fields on the water extending over 10,000 MU (1 MU = 1/15 ha) in the village of Qianduo (Jiangsu), the sessions photo among the pear trees in the district of Jinchuan (Sichuan) Hanfu (traditional Chinese clothing) in peonies in Heze (Shandong). More and more regions include the floral economy in their rural revitalization planning, transforming landscapes into levers of sustainable prosperity.
Creative floral products in the national botanical garden of China, in Beijing, April 11, 2025
A breeding ground for cultural development
The floral economy goes far beyond a simple seasonal fashion. Today it stimulates urban and rural development in which cultural heritage, tourist innovation and adjustment of the industrial system mix.
On March 20, the municipal office of Beijing for culture and tourism published for the first time the list of ten spring sites emblematic of the capital, such as the Sky Temple, the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the central axis of Beijing or the Great Wall.
The floral economy is no longer limited to simple walks among flowers. It is now enriched with a cultural dimension which prolongs its radiance far beyond the season. In Beijing, museums and parks seized this opportunity by launching collections of cultural creation products inspired by spring. The Beijing Museum of Art is the perfect illustration with its magnets representing the Magnolias and the Bégonias of its court which generated more than 200,000 yuan of sales in just two days.
Shanghai, on the other hand, has chosen to raise its emblematic flower, the white magnolia, to the rank of cultural ambassador. By transforming this ephemeral species into a real brand, the city offers it a permanent presence in its urban landscape. Through multipart discussions, Shanghai seeks how to anchor this flower in its cultural identity, making a natural symbol a vector of social ties and tourist creativity.
This spring, Kaisiling, a famous Chinese pastry shop, collaborated with the famous contemporary painter Xu Jinping, to incorporate elements of the white Magnolia into his two new cakes. As Chen Fengping explains, guardian of Kaisiling manufacturing techniques, this is the first time that this brand has experienced interprofessional artistic integration, proving that the influence of flowers can be extended far beyond their short season.
This evolution gradually transforms the floral economy. It has become a composite industry encompassing the creation of cultural brands, technological experiences and the extension of the industrial chain. These innovations demonstrate how this economy now stimulates both rural development and the transformation of consumption methods.
