SHENZHEN'S 27th Spring Festival Flower Fair will be held on Aiguo Road, Luohu District, from Feb. 13 through 17, the government has announced.

Around 1,200 booths will fill an area of more than 30,000 square meters, stretching one kilometer.

More than 70 flower dealers and wholesalers had already reserved booths by Tuesday when the fair venue was set, the Shenzhen Evening News reported yesterday.

Organizers have sent out invitations to importers of new flower species as well as jewelry manufacturers and wholesalers to participate in this year's fair, the News said. But the report did not elaborate on the new varieties that will be on offer.

The flower fair ahead of the Spring Festival, the traditional lunar Chinese New Year, has become an annual festival for Shenzheners. It provides a feast for the senses and an excellent place to buy flowers and flower-related products. The fair has recorded an average of about 1 million visitors a year over the past two decades.

With the increasing popularity among the public and flower dealers and growers from around the country, the fair has opened a subvenue in Futian District in 1998, and gradually one in every district, to meet the demand for booths and ease traffic pressure.

Next year's subvenues have yet to be announced.

The trade volume at last year's event surpassed 30 million yuan (US$3.75 million).

A flower dealer from Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province, spent a record 10,300 yuan for a booth at the 26th fair, 2.5 times more than the highest price (4,200 yuan) for a single booth in 2005.

All 1,031 booths at last year's fair were sold for an average price of more than 4,000 yuan, double the price of 2005. A record 5,000 species of flowers were available last year. (Wei Jie)

Editor: Wing