Hundreds of Hongkongers flock to flower market on Mother’s Day amid eased social-distancing curbs
- Mong Kok’s Flower Market Road buzzing with customers picking out fresh carnations and traffic along narrow lane comes to occasional standstill
- ‘The crowd is almost back to pre-pandemic levels and business is almost 70 per cent better than last year,’ says a flower shop owner
Shoppers, including families with children, jostled along Flower Market Road, picking out carnations and roses, while workers moved boxes of fresh blossoms from trucks into shops. Traffic along the narrow lane came to a standstill multiple times as trucks unloaded the goods and drivers stopped by the kerbside to pick up their bouquets.
“The crowd is almost back to pre-pandemic levels and business is almost 70 per cent better than last year,” said a flower shop owner surnamed Wu.
But she added that she had to pay 50 per cent more in shipping costs for enough stock to arrive in time for the day. Most of her flowers were flown in from the mainland Chinese cities of Kunming and Guangzhou.
“Because of the lockdown in some cities on the mainland, there are logistical issues so we have to pay more if we want the flowers to arrive on time,” Wu said. “However, we will absorb the cost as much as we can because it’s a happy occasion for our customers.”
Another shopkeeper, surnamed Wong, said she saw a steady stream of customers ever since she opened the doors of her shop on Sunday morning.
