Short, boring article, but the real bomb is the last line. Orchids as
religion???

Orchid sales volume hits annual 100 bln yuan in China

The orchid cultivation industry has been enjoying fast development in
China, with annual sales hitting 100 billion yuan (about 12.3 billion US
dollars), said sources with the China Orchid Culture Forum held Sunday
in a central China city.

The people in China have a long history of favoring orchids, which are
historical symbols of lofty character and noble sentiment in literature,
poetry and painting.

China has so far set up more than 1,000 orchid associations at various
levels nationwide, and orchid fans number some 5 million, said the China
Orchid Association at the forum held in Yichang, a city in central
China's Hubei province.

The country has set up more than about 60 websites specializing in
glorifying orchid culture and boosting orchid trade.

Over 50 orchid experts from Hubei, Sichuan, Zhejiang, Fujian and
Guangdong provinces, the country's major orchid producers, gathered at
the forum to confer on the further development of the country's orchid
cultivation sector.

They held that advocating orchid culture will help improve moral
standards and the public's temperament.

--
--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html