Pure appreciation stems from Suzhou's lotus markets

In Suzhou, Jiangsu province, the annual lotus market has become the city's cultural sensation this summer.

The most popular market, on Baitaxu West Road, draws an average of more than 45,000 daily visitors.

Local farmers display freshly cut lotus flowers harvested before dawn, their petals still glistening with morning dew.

The tradition runs deep in Suzhou's local culture, and is recorded in the Wujunzhi, a local chronicle of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). This centuries-old summer tradition of the city is now woven into the lives of a new generation.