Flowering plant promotes rural prosperity

A species of flowering plant — Rosa roxbunghii — is promoting rural prosperity in Guizhou province's Huishui county.

The flowers sprout from a bulb that looks something like a barbed chestnut. Its juice is extracted for use in health drinks.

Established in 2020, Guizhou Wanglaoji Ciningji Industry Development Co is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangzhou Wanglaoji Great Health Industry Co, which produces the Ciningji series of health drink products. It responds to the nation's call for east-west poverty alleviation collaboration. It aims to help Guizhou's Rosa roxbunghii industry and the province's economic development.

By combining Guangdong province's industry with Guizhou's resources, a sustainable program for poverty alleviation has been created. The result has been the development of more than 10 chain enterprises in Guizhou and the creation of about 180 jobs for residents in Huishui. Salaries are around 4,000 to 5,000 yuan ($547 to $648) per month.

"We want to do our duty in rural vitalization," said Ye Jizeng, president of Guizhou Wanglaoji Ciningji Industry Development Co.

Currently, daily production of Ciningji and other products is about 600,000 cans. The planting area for Rosa roxbunghii has reached over 140,000 hectares in Guizhou.

Wang Jin and Luo Siyang contributed to this story.