Story highlights New trend in China: wearing plastic sprout hair clips

It's unclear who started the fashion

Sociologist says trend "enriches mundane life" and meaning doesn't matter

Beijing (CNN) Sprouts, grass, and flowers are blossoming from Chinese people's heads -- and nobody quite knows why.

We're referring, of course, to sprout hair clips -- a brand new Chinese fashion fad that seems to have grown organically out of the country's tourist spots, where men and women of all ages can be seen rocking the fake plastic plants.

In Nanluoguxiang, an ancient stone lane in Beijing, vendors selling the clips are swarmed by excited tourists, who can't wait to take selfies with their new accessories.

Yet nobody seems to know where the trend is originated from, according to an informal CNN street survey.

Zhou Delai, a vendor holding a tray full of clips, told CNN the trend started in Beijing about two weeks ago. He says he sells 200 clips every three to four hours.

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