We continue now with our special series – Decoding plants: how can florists transform our lives? As China's market for flowers grows, more people are choosing to make careers out of it. One man from Southwest China is fast becoming a rising star in the world of florists. CGTN's Yang Jinghao explores how the career of Li Zeming has grown from the ground up.

Li Zeming's life is all about flowers – purchasing them, creating floral designs, even giving lectures on this increasingly popular art. His affection for flowers blossomed at an early age.

LI ZEMING FLORIST "When I was a child, I often transplanted various plants from surrounding mountains. The first thing I would do after school would be to take care of my garden at home."

His dream to become a floral designer continued to burgeon. In college, Zeming majored in gardening. Systematic botanical knowledge enabled him to learn more about flowers – their features and growth habits. After graduation, he received training at Japan's Nippon Flower Designers' Association, one of the world's most influential florist organizations, and became one of the first five Chinese florists accredited here.

LI ZEMING FLORIST "This experience reshaped my understanding of the flower industry. I learned that floral design is more than just arranging flowers in a fixed mode, or in a casual way. It calls for aesthetic tastes and related techniques."

The young man's career got off to a good start in Beijing, where he had the opportunity to make designs for various occasions. One of his upper-echelon events was a banquet during the Belt and Road forum in 2017. He participated in designing table flowers.

LI ZEMING FLORIST "It's a big challenge to work for such an event. Many factors need to be taken into account based on cultural differences. For example, each country has their own national flower and preference and taboos. So we had to be very careful in choosing flowers."

In 2018, Zeming relocated to his hometown in Kunming city, the nation's largest flower farming base and trading center, and opened his own studio. With the experience accumulated in Beijing, he hopes to pursue more opportunities.

While doing business, Zeming also participates in floral design competitions. He says he needs to continuously improve himself via such exchanges with peers of different backgrounds and experiences.

Zeming believes each florist has a different style, yet their pursuit of beauty is consistent. YJH, CGTN, Kunming, Yunnan Province.