Visitors take a close look at the potted flowers on display at the fair's sub-venue in Lingui district. [Photo by Wang Zhanfei for en.gxzf.gov.cn]

The first Flower and Seedling Trade Fair of South China and the third Guangxi Flower and Seedling Trade Fair commenced in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Oct 29.

The two-day event took place in a 5,000-mu (333-hectare) main venue in Diecai district and a 4,000-mu (267-hectare) sub-venue in Lingui district.

Events like industrial forums, exhibitions of high-quality products, investment promotion activities, and flower art experiences were held during the fair. 

More than 500 exhibitors gathered at the main venue, where more than 400,000 pots of flowers and seedlings cover over 1,500 varieties were showcased. Among them, 350 enterprises inked deals with purchasers during the fair, worth a total value of 90 million yuan ($12 million).

The fair's main venue. [Photo by Wang Zhanfei for en.gxzf.gov.cn]

Ten provinces and autonomous regions in South China, including Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, and Yunnan, completed a total flower and seedling turnover of 300 million yuan.

The sub-venue in Lingui district opened on Oct 30 at the local distinctive osmanthus industry demonstrative zone, which has a core area of 3,500 mu and an expansion area of more than 7,000 mu. A food and music festival featuring osmanthus was held in Lingui, adding to the event's festivities and helping increase Guilin's city influence.

Guangxi is a major cluster of forestry resources in China and is home to over 1,400 kinds of wild ornamental plants, as well as over 130 million mu in artificial forests. The plantation area of flowers and seedlings in Guangxi in 2021 reached 1.2 million mu, with a total annual output value of 21 billion yuan.

The region is expected to make full use of the platform to build a 50-billion-yuan level modern flower and seedling industry.