more google hits for thousand and........thousand was how i always heard it for years decades..... pin yin does not matter
'The first part of the phrase is often mistranslated and remembered in the west as "let a thousand flowers bloom" '
- Wikipedia
For some reason I have never heard "thousand".
pin yin does not matter
If you want to know how to to pronounce an unfamiliar Chinese character it is very useful. Even the Chinese use it.