KUNMING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Dounan Flower Market, Asia's largest fresh-cut flower trading market, in the southwest Chinese city of Kunming saw flower transaction volume up 5 percent to 14.18 billion stems last year.

With a transaction value of 11.57 billion yuan (about 1.61 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, the market has led the country in both flower transaction volume and value for 25 consecutive years.

The Dounan Flower Market, located in the Chenggong District of Kunming, Yunnan Province, is also the world's second-largest fresh-cut flower trading hub. This bustling market is a key supplier, with flowers from Dounan reaching every provincial-level region on the Chinese mainland and more than 50 countries and regions worldwide, including Japan and Thailand.

Flower cultivation in Dounan dates back to 1983. In the 1990s, local residents began commercial cultivation and trading. In 1999, China's first professional flower trading market was established in Dounan.

Since then, the market has expanded its flower industry chain, solidifying its position as a major flower trading hub. Now, seven out of 10 fresh-cut flowers in China come from Dounan.

Dounan's blooming flower industry highlights China's prominence in the global flower market.

With about 1.5 million hectares dedicated to flower cultivation and more than 5 million people involved in the industry, China has become the world's largest flower producer and an important flower trader and consumer.

A guideline jointly issued by China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs proposed that by 2025, the annual sales of the country's flower industry will reach 300 billion yuan, and more than 700 billion yuan in 2035. ■