After spending 12 years selling flowers wholesale in Beijing, Zhang Xiaoyan left her rented apartment in Daxing district and moved to neighboring Hebei province, where life is easier and she is seeing an upturn in business.

Having arrived in the capital from her native Sichuan province in 2006, she relocated to Gaobeidian in Baoding, about 70 kilometers southwest of Beijing, about a year ago.

"Initially, I was reluctant to move because I was used to living and working in Beijing," the 42-year-old said, adding that many other wholesalers in the capital's flower markets have relocated in recent years as the government seeks to reduce the number of people engaged in businesses that do not need to be located in the capital.