Out of secret box, designers compete for floral beauty

You're given a basket of flowers. You have no idea of the mix inside, but you have three hours in which to produce a display worthy of your nation.

This was the situation at the G-Flower Market in Gongbei on Jan 6 and at other sites in Jiangsu Province, Beijing, Xi'an, and Hangzhou. In Zhuhai, 34 floral designers from 10 cities nationwide competed and Cheng Yihuan from Guangzhou championed the China qualifying competition for the 2019 FTD-Interflora-Fleurop World Cup Design Competition.

It was the first time for Zhuhai to host the floral design event. FTD-Interflora-Fleurop World Cup Design Competition is the most prestigious in the international floral industry, with 30 of the world's top designers in a quest for the title of Best Floral Artist. The quadrennial competition will be held in Philadelphia in March 2019. In 2015, Alex Choi of South Korea was crowned champion in Berlin.

FTD, also trading as Florists' Transworld Delivery, is a wire service, retailer, and wholesaler based in Downers Grove, Illinois. Meanwhile, FTD subsidiary Interflora is a delivery network associated with 58,000 flower shops in 140 countries.

The China qualifications were hosted by China Flower & Gardening News and Interflora. 

Zhuhai qualifying contest [Photo by Yin Bei/ Zhuhai Daily]

Contestants are graded across Mystery Box and Human Body floral art categories. Overall results from both categories are combined for the final score. The top ten receive the title of 2018 China's Best Interflora Floral Designer. They will represent China at the 2019 FTD-Interflora-Fleurop World Cup Design Competition, while being awarded with admission tickets valued at about 100,000 yuan ($15,400).