Magic of flowers allows people to celebrate their lives

"Last year, I went to a nearby flower market with my family after the Spring Festival Eve dinner and bought bunches of cockscomb flowers," said Feng Qiuping, a retired woman who has been living in Guangzhou for more than 30 years.

"The fire red color matched the jubilation of Spring Festival," she added.

When the city slogan - "Celebrate Spring Festival in Guangzhou, Enjoy Beautiful Blossoms in Flower City" - was proposed in 2013, the activities celebrating Spring Festival in Guangzhou were extended to a series of events lasting from the first day of Spring Festival to the 15th day of the first lunar month.

Guangzhou has been known as the "city of flowers" since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) because there were regular jasmine flower markets set at all the gates of the city during daytime.

Nowadays, hundreds of flowers species are planted for residents and visitors. A total of 140 flower-themed landscapes were established in the city recently.

Seasonal flowers such as redbud, ceiba, lotus, crape myrtle and tabebuia chrysantha bloom one after another. The official city flower, red kapok, blossoms in March.

Besides the construction of flower landscapes, the city has committed itself to planting more trees and maintaining every piece of green.

By the end of 2016, the forest coverage in Guangzhou had reached 42.31 percent, and the green land coverage of the city had reached 36.7 percent, making it a model city for afforestation in China.

"Guangzhou has been undertaking tremendous changes since I moved here in 1980s," said Feng. "The streets are cleaner, the water clearer and the sky is crystal blue. I recommend more people to come here, live here and find a beautiful life for themselves."