A mother holds her daughter during an event held in celebration of Mother's Day in a kindergarten in Tianjin on Sunday. [Wang Huan/China Daily]

SHANGHAI - Daughters and sons chose to send flowers, gifts and touching text messages to their mothers on Sunday to express their feelings on Mother's Day.

Carnations, which are a symbol of motherhood, not surprisingly proved the most popular flower.

"I preordered a bouquet of carnations online for my mother a week ago as my Mother's Day gift," said Zeng Ru, a 25-year-old female white-collar worker from Hunan province.

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Zeng added that although her mother always blames her for spending too much money on the flowers, which she has sent every year since she started working three years ago, her mother is obviously pleased with the gifts because she always shows them off to her friends and neighbors.

Some florists were so busy they had to stop taking orders days before Mother's Day.

"We stopped taking orders for Mother's Day delivery as there were too many customers either ordering flowers online or via telephone," said Hai Zao, a customer service officer with an online flower store.

Hai added that the price of carnations had risen higher than roses and lilies.

According to a survey conducted by the Oriental Morning Post among 500 residents in Shanghai, 82.8 percent of the interviewees said they sent their best wishes to their mothers by giving presents, making phone calls, preparing a dinner or helping with housework.

The survey also found that 50.6 percent of residents believed that they should care for their mothers more and make every day seem like Mother's Day.

"I believe it's more important that I, as a daughter, show my love to my mom by helping and taking care of her, and accompanying her everyday, not only on Mother's Day," said Xu Lixia, a 24-year-old local female resident who always does the housework for her mother.

For those young mothers who have just given birth, Mother's Day came with some changes.

"I used to buy gifts for my mother on Mother's Day, but I received Mother's Day greetings from my friends this morning for the first time, which made me very happy," said Su Xia, a 26-year-old mother of twin daughters from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province.

Mother's Day also meant a bonanza for gift stores and even travel agencies.

"The majority of cosmetic stands and clothes shops in the mall had a Mother's Day sale this weekend with discounts on selected products and special gifts," said a sales assistant surnamed Shi from the Nextage, a shopping mall located in Pudong district, Shanghai.

Shi added that the shopping mall also tried to create an appropriate atmosphere by offering free carnations to mothers.

Statistics supplied by Taobao, China's biggest online retailer, show that the total value of Mother's-Day-related products sold this year increased 119 percent above what it had been in the same period last year. The best sellers were clothes, cosmetics, bags, accessories, flowers and personalized gifts.

Travel agencies were also keen to get on the bandwagon and organize special Mother's-Day-themed tours. The SeaSky tourism agency in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, prepared a series of tours to Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand with discounts and special gifts especially tailored for mothers.

"I booked the seven-day cruise tour to Thailand for May 15 as a gift for my mother and myself. It will enable me to spend more time with my mother and let us share our experiences of being mothers," said Wang Xiaoqing, a 29-year-old mother of a 2-year-old son from Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

There were some Mother's Day gifts that were less material.

For instance, a group of elementary students in Dexing, East China's Jiangxi province, participated in a Mother's Day event organized by their schools, in which they washed their mothers' feet on Friday, two days before Mother's Day.