Flower Boats

30 April 2010 - I was in Guangzhou today. The office is not far from the Lai Wan (Liwan in pinyin) area. The name derives from the series of bays in the Pearl River, which were famed for their lychee orchards. The place was also well know for its "flower boats". The riverfront was home to dozens of highly luxurious floating brothels. The "flowers" were - of course - the prostitutes working on the boats, and "picking flowers" was a way to describe a visit to one of the brothels. Gone are the lychee orchards and flower boats, but one can still find delicious fruits on the markets and, no doubt, pick some flowers too.