The government of Liwan District has just announced it will hold a flower fair in Lychee Bay and the adjacent Liwan Lake Park to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival.

Visiting the flower fair is a long-time family tradition for the Cantonese-speaking area. Traditional flower fairs are opened in the street during spring festival. This year, Liwan Government has moved it on to the lakes and canals that nurture the district. From February 7 to March 13, visitors can walk along the waters to see and buy flowers and other gifts and items for the Spring Festival from the boats. Three times a day the flotilla of colorful flower boats will parade there.

Though it is being heralded as the first edition of the waterfront flower fair, the history of holding the carnival on the Pearl River can be traced back for centuries. At that time during the Spring Festival, the flower farmers rowed boats to the present-day Changdi Damalu (长堤大马路) and sold their flowers there. Back in the 19th century, thousands of boat clustered near the present-day White Swan Hotel. They were connected to each other and spread with carpet. Visitors could buy flowers, enjoy sea food and other cuisine as well as watching traditional operas.

The district government expects to reproduce the grandeur of the ancient waterfront flower fair and to bring some experience of old Guangzhou to the visitors.