During the Qingming Festival, the spring and scenery are bright, and it is the perfect time to go for a walk and appreciate the flowers. According to data from Meituan Travel, during the Qingming Festival holiday, the search popularity for hiking and flower viewing increased by 118% year-on-year. Lingnan blooms early. Represented by the Flower City Guangzhou, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is not only a popular destination for flower viewing, but also a popular source of tourists for flower viewing trips. According to preliminary estimates, Guangdong received 21.105 million tourists during this year's Qingming Festival holiday (April 4th to April 6th), a year-on-year increase of 6.4%; Among them, Guangzhou received over 5.48 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 9.1%. According to data from multiple online travel platforms, Guangzhou ranks among the top 5 popular domestic tourist destinations for short holidays. The output value of Guangdong's flower and seedling industry accounts for 13% of the national total. According to the double high data of flower and beauty value in the Greater Bay Area, by 2024, the flower planting area in Guangdong Province will reach 1.5 million mu, and the total output value of the entire industry chain will exceed 100 billion yuan, accounting for 6.7% of the national planting area and incubating about 13% of the national output value. The Pearl River Delta is the core area of the national flower and seedling industry. Among them, Flower City Guangzhou will have a flower planting area of about 320000 acres in 2024, with a transaction volume exceeding 15 billion yuan. Flower exports will cover more than 80 countries and regions, and Phalaenopsis seedlings will occupy 60% of the global market share. The Lingnan Flower Market located in Liwan, Guangzhou can sell two to three hundred thousand fresh cut flowers per day, with an annual transaction volume of over 2 billion yuan. It can be seen that the blooming flowers bring considerable value to Guangdong and the bay area. Beyond these 'hardcore' data, the high beauty of the Bay Area's blooming flowers goes without saying. Strolling through the streets and countryside, you can see: The kapok flowers bloom brightly in the wind, the palace pink Bauhinia dyes the city with red smoke, the yellow flowered wind chime wood decorates the roads into "golden corridors", and the large rapeseed flowers blooming in the fields are full of vitality, as well as azaleas, sparrows, peach blossoms, cherry blossoms, tulips, and so on. It can be said that spring is everywhere in sight. According to reports released by multiple online travel platforms in China, during this year's Qingming Festival holiday, the domestic market has seen a surge in short distance trips, mainly focused on ancient rituals and flower appreciation. The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area is also experiencing a peak in travel, with Hong Kong and Macao residents heading north to pay respects to their ancestors, visit relatives, go for outings, and continue to increase their demand for tourism. Mainland residents' enthusiasm for traveling to Hong Kong and Macao remains undiminished. Data shows that from April 3rd to 7th, the Guangzhou Shenzhen Hong Kong cross-border high-speed railway is expected to transport 545000 passengers, with an average daily passenger volume of 136000, a year-on-year increase of 15%. According to statistics from the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge border inspection station, from April 4th to April 6th at 12:00, there were over 272000 inbound and outbound passengers and over 57000 vehicles passing through Zhuhai Port, an increase of 32.1% and 41.7% respectively year-on-year, setting a new historical high for the same period. According to Ctrip's 2025 Qingming Festival travel summary, during the Qingming Festival holiday, the number of orders from Hong Kong residents entering the mainland increased by 35% year-on-year. Overseas Chinese hometowns such as Shenzhen, Dongguan, Shantou, and Shanwei have become popular choices for Hong Kong people to trace their roots and ancestors due to their ancestral temple culture and unique cuisine; The order volume of mainland residents checking in at well-known attractions such as M+and Peak Tram in Hong Kong has increased by over 100% year-on-year, achieving the transmission of cultural and tourism atmosphere linked by solar terms. Behind the popularity of hiking and admiring flowers is the increasingly dense "1-hour transportation circle" in the Greater Bay Area, allowing citizens and tourists to enjoy Lingnan flowers in one day. Relying on high-speed railway lines such as Beijing Guangzhou, Meilong, Guangshan, Guiyang Guangzhou, and Nanguang, the point-to-point flower viewing special train operated by Guangzhou Railway Group has expanded the "flower viewing radius" of people in the Greater Bay Area from bay area cities to eastern and northwestern Guangdong. Tourists departing from Guangzhou, Dongguan, and Shenzhen can quickly reach places such as Shaoguan, Meizhou, Shantou, Heyuan, and Maoming to enjoy cherry blossoms, peach blossoms, and azaleas, forming a "two-hour flower viewing circle" along the way. Since the beginning of spring this year, various spring events such as the Guangzhou Flower Festival, Dongguan Songshan Lake Flower Moon Appreciation, Hong Kong Flower Exhibition, Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area · Shenzhen Flower Exhibition have been staged in rotation, providing more choices for spring travel in the Greater Bay Area. Using flowers as a medium to boost the spring economy, the Greater Bay Area is even more diverse: Shenzhen has launched its first "low altitude flower tour" route, allowing citizens and tourists to "taste" the first taste of the flower sea while flying; The Guangzhou Nansha Cherry Blossom Festival has launched "Cherry Blossom Ice Cream" and "Cherry Blossom Coffee", hitting the hearts of young tourists; At the New Spring Festival event at Hong Kong Disneyland, Duffy and his friends took a float to the streets, bringing sweet experiences to tourists... The combination of "flower appreciation+" folk customs, food, cultural and creative industries, technology, etc. unlocks new ways of hiking, brings rich tourism experiences to tourists, and also stimulates new consumer demand, cleverly activating the Spring Festival economy. According to data, the Nansha Cherry Blossom Festival has attracted over 650000 visitors from the bay area to enjoy the flowers since its establishment; With the "Flower Appreciation+Village Caf é" model, Zhongshan Yakou Village can attract over 1.5 million tourists every year, and this year's Spring Festival saw a daily visitor flow of up to 100000 people; The 50 kilometer hiking activity in Foshan connects multiple flower viewing attractions, not only increasing the booking volume of local hotels and homestays in Foshan, but also driving the growth of surrounding catering and souvenir sales, with a month on month increase of over 60% in revenue... Flower viewing is not just about flowers, but also about developing businesses through flowers. A small flower can leverage a billion dollar economy in the bay area. The stories of people in the Greater Bay Area living up to their dreams and pursuing their aspirations will continue to be written. (New Society)