Felt flowers help smooth over cracks

He installed his first flower at the base of a memorial archway on April 5. Four days later, he saw that a section of the front wall of a dessert shop was broken, so he and a friend fixed it using another of his creations. He was a little concerned as the shop was private property, and he worried the owner might not like his intervention.

In fact, the owner was pleased and surprised. He looked Luo up on WeChat and left him a message. "My shabby wall now has such a beautiful and heartwarming flower. I really like it. I'm touched. A gesture like this cannot be rewarded with money, so I'm treating you to free sweet soup for a month. It's my small token."

Luo politely declined the offer.

A young boy in the village also liked the flower, so much so that he took it for himself, and its replacement, too. The shop's owner caught him in the act and asked him to become the flower's guardian. Since then, it has remained in place.

Luo has planted 18 flowers around the village. He said they can withstand a certain amount of sun and rain, and he replaces any that go missing. He added that he feels the flowers have helped bring life to old buildings and serve as warm touches for villagers.

After a schoolmate posted a video of his little flowers online, they became a sensation and have been hailed as "soft patches for the city" and as "letters from Spring". Luo began to receive requests from volunteers and decided to expand his activities. He set up a WeChat group named "little flower chivalry", which now has over 200 members from other Chinese and foreign cities. They include schoolmates, journalists, restaurant operators and students in countries including New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy. Luo shares his flower-making techniques with them.