Released in 2011, Sweet Journey, directed by Yan Ran, tells the story of two boys from a remote mountain village in Guizhou who set out in the spring of 1980 to chase their dream of a city beyond the mountains. In the film, the two boys stumble into a Miao village, but after their identities are exposed, they are chased into the forest. In the midst of their frantic escape, they climb to the mountaintop – where a breathtaking view suddenly unfolds before them: mountains rolling like waves, and azaleas blazing like fire across the hills.

This stunning scene was filmed in Baili Rhododendron Scenic Area in Bijie City, southwestern China's Guizhou Province. In reality, the Baili Rhododendron Scenic Area is equally magnificent. It is the world's largest, most diverse and best-preserved primitive azalea forest. Every spring, the flowers bloom layer upon layer from the forest floor to the mountaintops, spreading for miles and lighting up the entire landscape like a sea of fire. In recent years, the area has leveraged its floral landscape to develop a "flower economy," turning its natural beauty into a driver of local development and boosting tourism growth.