Panax notoginseng, a valuable herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), offers a new way for impoverished residents of Lancang Lahu Autonomous County in southwest China's Yunnan Province to improve their lives.

In recent years, the Chinese Academy of Engineering has developed a technique planting panax notoginseng in the forest to help locals make full use of the rich forest resources. Due to the strict use of ecological planting, Lancang's panax notoginseng is popular in the market, and it can sell for 293 dollars per kilo.

The Chinese Academy of Engineering has also been working with e-commerce platform Pinduoduo to provide an e-commerce course to help the locals expand their sales and sell the agricultural products directly to consumers.