KUNMING -- Yunnan province, China's main supplier of flowers, reported robust sales in the run-up to this year's Qixi festival, or the Chinese Valentine's Day, on Saturday.

The Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center has traded over 80 million stems of fresh cut flowers since Aug 3, when the region's major flower auction market started to prepare for Qixi, compared with over 40 million in the same period last year, said Ni Wentao, deputy head of the center's auction branch.

The center saw a new daily record on Tuesday, with 9.31 million flower stems transacted, Ni said.

A large supply, a short stocking period and stable prices are the main features of the Qixi flower market this year, said Zhang Tao, head of the center's logistics branch.

Yunnan in southwest China is among the world's top producers of fresh cut flowers. It produced 14.7 billion stems of fresh cut flowers last year.

Despite the impact of the pandemic and extreme weather, sellers and experts have noted a strong momentum in China's flower industry, as expanding production keeps up with the country's growing appetite for flowers.

He Wei, general manager of a local flower company, said the firm sent out more than 10,000 parcels a day in the days leading up to Qixi, compared with 3,000 on a normal day.

"The demand has been strong recently," said He.

The Qixi Festival, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, celebrates the legend of the annual meeting between the mythological figures of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl.