Flower-themed cultural products bloom across China

Floral cultural products have become increasingly popular as tourists go outside to appreciate blooming flowers across China.

Travel enthusiasts are crowding into the Yuyuantan Park, a scenic spot in Beijing for cherry blossoms, to take photos of its new cherry blossom-shaped popsicles this year.

The park also made announcements to upgrade its cultural creative products in February on its official WeChat accounts, including cherry blossom bracelets, scarfs, blankets, etc.

Meanwhile, cultural creative specialty shops have set up spring display sections when the weather gets warmer.

“Our display section decorated with floral ornaments has attracted many customers to take photos and post on social media, driving the sales growth at the same time,” a storekeeper of a specialty store on Beijing’s Wangfujing Shopping Street told Xinhuanet.

“With the Qingming Festival approaching, we are expecting another sales surge,” he said. Qingming Festival, or Tomb-sweeping festival, falls on April 4th this year when Chinese people enjoy a 3-day public holiday.

Beijing is not the only city that enjoys these “blossoming trends”. For Luoyang, an ancient city located in central China's Henan Province, the upcoming peony season will bring more tourists as well as profits.

Regarded as a symbol of longevity and prosperity, peony has long been favored by Chinese people, whose cultural meaning appeals to all ages and social groups.

The cultural product studio of the Luoyang Museum has launched a new product: Zhuyan Mirror, a cosmetic mirror that is decorated with peony and lotus flower patterns on its back. So far, this product has become a hit in the museum’s Taobao flagship store.

In addition to attractive appearance and good meaning, customers are also looking for cultural values in products.

“The cultural meaning behind is what I cherish the most,” a visitor told Xinhuanet outside a specialty shop of cultural products at the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, in Beijing.

A number of brands and designers are combining floral elements with traditional Chinese culture to gain a competitive edge in the market.

The cultural and creative product studio of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, for instance, launches a 24 Solar Termss fridge magnet collection, featuring the iconic Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest amidst seasonal flowers for each Solar Term.

Floral elements also inspire designers in their creative works. Individual designer Li Jing posted her collection of 24 Solar Terms floral patterns and received more than 1,500 likes in total on Xiaohongshu, a popular lifestyle-sharing social platform in China.

Each pattern is themed on the symbolic flower that blooms around the specific Solar Terms. For instance, this year’s spring equinox, or Chunfen, falls on March 20. Li’s selection for the spring equinox is magnolia, which generally flowers in early spring as well.

Li is planning to commercialize her creativity by developing cultural products based on these patterns.

“Badges made of metal and acrylic are under production. I’ll also utilize these patterns to make tri-colored glazed pottery ornaments,” Li told Xinhuanet. Dozens of her followers expressed their intention to buy in the comment section.

On the reason for combining traditional culture with floral elements, Li said, “Cultural memories assist the creative products in sustainable development, which will attract customers in the long term.”