With the blossoming of the flower industry, the city's population began to rise rapidly.

The flower industry in Yunnan province started to develop towards the end of the 1980s.

Colombia's flower industry has become profitable, a success story in the country's effort to diversify its exports.

Mitsui Industries has moved in on the flower industry.

Ethiopia's flower industry has become a new source for export revenue.

"That was my 'Aha' moment," she said, explaining how she had come to be interested in the flower industry.

The retail flower industry, estimated at $7 billion this year, has been expanding about 7 percent annually.

The orchid family is one of the most important plant families in respect to the ornamental flower industry.

But in the flower industry as in so many others, China's business practices have prompted other nations to object.

China's influence on the global flower industry may also emerge in a tactile way: the lack of thorns.