The 41st Chrysanthemum Cultural Festival is currently being held in Kaifeng in central China. The festival attracts guests from all over the world to experience a rich artistic and cultural atmosphere. Based on its profound historical and cultural heritage and long planting history, Kaifeng has also expanded and strengthened its chrysanthemum industry. Zhou Yixin reports. 

Kaifeng is an ancient city with a long history of growing and appreciating chrysanthemums. During the Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago, chrysanthemums were widely planted and used for ornamental purposes in Kaifeng. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Kaifeng initiated the earliest chrysanthemum appreciation festival. In today's Kaifeng, tens of thousands of pots of the flowers are in full bloom, attracting tourists to experience its rich chrysanthemum culture.

ZHOU YIXIN, Kaifeng, Henan Province "In addition to being used for displays, the chrysanthemums in Kaifeng have also spawned a series of products, such as the chrysanthemum-shaped tea snacks seen here. These exquisite snacks are made in the same way as in ancient times, according to the records found in the Song Dynasty literature."

Chrysanthemum tea is another main product derived from Kaifeng's chrysanthemum industry. In Kaifeng's Daguan corporation, workers are checking each flower and making sure each is suitable to go through the drying process.

ZHANG ZHENG, General Manager, Kaifeng Daguan Commercial Management Corporation "The dried chrysanthemum is golden in color and each flower shape is perfect, which is unique to Kaifeng. The city is located on the Yellow River flood plain, and the soil composition is suitable for the cultivation of chrysanthemums. Kaifeng's climate has a long frost-free period and long sunshine throughout the year, allowing each chrysanthemum to grow fully."

Relying on the advantages of the natural conditions, the local chrysanthemum planting industry is booming, and Kaifeng's chrysanthemums are sold across the country.

Kaifeng Qianfang Horticulture corporation has contracted tracts of land to growers, and unified management and sales. Eleven contracted growers who operate on more than 23 hectares of land hire farmers from surrounding villages. During the peak harvesting period every September, they can employ more than 500 people.

HUANG XIU, General Manager, Kaifeng Qianfang Horticulture Corporation "Our company has helped lift 87 poor households out of poverty in surrounding villages. Through the income from land transfer and the income from working at the company, the farmers now have considerable income and their living standards have also improved."

As an important chrysanthemum production base in China, Kaifeng's growing area has reached more than 13-hundred hectares, with an annual output value exceeding 82 million US dollars. Kaifeng's chrysanthemums have become an important engine driving local industrial development and rural revitalization.

Zhou Yixin, CGTN, Kaifeng, Henan Province.