About 1,000 hectares of safflowers on the slope of the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's Uygur Autonomous Region are ready for harvest.

Local farmers are harvesting them under the clean sky, which forms a unique and beautiful scene. They wear thick clothes when harvesting to stop getting hurt by the burrs on leaf edges and branches.

Safflower is used in traditional Chinese medicine. The flowers can be used as natural dye, and dried filaments are an important ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. The seeds can be further processed into oil and vinegar.

Safflowers in Xinjiang are excellent in quality because of fertile land, sufficient light and water, as well as the significant temperature difference between day and night. As the safflowers are resistant to drought and salinity, and require little pesticides and fertilizers, it has been widely grown in Xinjiang and has generated a steady source of income for local farmers.

(Cover image via CFP)

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