When the flowers are in full bloom in late summer, it becomes a tourist hot spot, with 200 restaurants opening to cater to visitors. Tourism has created jobs for nearly 2,000 local people, with 500 them from poor families.

In Ruili, the prosperous jade industry has created jobs for more than 60,000 people.

The Longchuan county government has helped 1,956 poor families develop silk production and the rearing of silk worms.

So far, 5,000 families have cultivated 3,400 hectares of mulberry trees in the county to meet the demands of the industry.