A woman sells strands of Yulan magnolia blossoms at a busy intersection in Taipei. She turned to selling flowers after sustaining a career-ending back injury. She is one of a handful of socioeconomically disadvantaged vendors with physical health conditions in the area, whose livelihoods depend on the income they generate from sales to urban commuters and residents.
She starts work early each morning and usually stands on the sidewalk waiting for customers until the afternoon. She charges NT$ 20 (US$ .65) for an individual strand and NT$ 50 (US$ 1.65) for a bundle of three. While the profit margin is reasonable, business is generally slow.
Yulan magnolia are cultivated in southern Taiwan and often sold on the street in Taipei from late spring to early summer. The flowers have a creamy white color and strong, sweet fragrance that wafts through the air and works as an all-natural diffuser. The blossoms are commonly hung in a room as decoration or placed as an offering for deities and ancestral spirits at places of worship.