This is from the Official Olympic Website:
Fresh flowers are everywhere to be seen and smelled in the Fengtai Flower Distribution Center. Here, over 1,500 kinds of flowers have been carefully selected for use in the many display areas and during the various kinds of Olympic ceremonies. In August, these high-quality flowers will be sent safely and accurately to the various Olympic venues.
The Center covers 2,600 square meters, and is set up for research and development, processing, production, packaging, and distribution. Already, there is a link between the Center and other flower centers throughout the country, wherein flowers can be sent directly to the base to be prepared for Olympic presentation, after which an air-conditioned vehicle will transport the end products to the Olympic venues.
To date, the Center is equipped with six air-tight vehicles to meet requirements for the “Good Luck Beijing” series of sports events. For the Olympic Games in August, that number is expected to rise to 30. After the Games, the Center will still serve floral fans, customizing arrangements to meet the needs of customers, offering top service to local residents.
From the time the flower is picked to the time it reaches the athletes’ hands, only 6-8 hours would have passed.
Early every morning, according to the needs of the day, flower pickers will send the appropriate number of flowers to the distribution center. Flowers that have spent the night not rooted to soil will be abandoned.
Dozens of professional flower arrangers will be at work, tailoring bouquets to meet vigorous guidelines. Even stem length and the number of leaves per flower will be scrutinized and standardized.
During the Games, the Fengtai Flower Distribution Center will be quite busy preparing hundreds of flowers each day to meet the needs of the Olympics.
With a strict timeline, flowers are guaranteed to reach athletes’ hands fresh. According to a representative of the Center, fresh flowers can only be really kept fresh (after they are uprooted) for about half a day. 6-8 hours after a flower has been picked is when it shines the most; thus, only flowers that are taken out of the ground and delivered to athletes within that time frame will be used in presentation bouquets.
It’s not enough to ensure timeliness of delivery. In order for flowers to appear beautifully fresh, transportation methods must take into account temperature and humidity. Each bouquet will have its own special, insulated, waterproof, tailor-made “freshness preservation box” to ensure no damage or water loss.
After being placed in the box, the “freshness preservation boxes” are then carefully stacked into air-tight vehicles. The temperature must be controlled inside the car, standing at a steady 10-15 degrees Celsius.
“Protection Experts” to escort flowers
As the flowers begin their journey in the moving vehicle, they are accompanied by special “protection experts.” These professionals have been rigorously trained to deal with any sort of flower mishap during transportation.
Upon their arrival at the Olympic venue, special “flower receivers” will move the boxes into designated rooms for flower storage, also kept at a steady 10-15 degrees Celsius. At this point, only a “protection expert” can handle the flowers. His job is to remove the flowers from the boxes and thoroughly examine them for any sign of damage or deformation. If anything happened to the bouquet during transportation, this “protection expert” will immediately take charge, substituting the offensive flower with one that has been sitting on the “bench.”
