Saturday marks the second day of the Qingming festival. Many urbanites in China take the opportunity of the holiday to visit the blossoming countryside. In many areas, the flowers are not only beautiful, but also have economic value. Zheng Chunying has more.

Leaving the hustle and bustle of the cities for a slice of rural China. Flower tours through the countryside have become a popular way to enjoy the spring.

"It's a new experience for me, I traveled here especially to enjoy the blossoming flowers, I like it a lot, really a pleasure for me."

And the scenes that provide pleasure for so many tourists are at the same time generating wealth for rural townships. Yu Zhang county has been developing a 9.5-hectare sunflower base since last November. It's now attracting crowds of city-dwellers and bringing in riches for local residents. With local governments stepping in to provide support, the flower business model is becoming more structured and better regulated.

HU JIANYUN, LEADER YUZHANG COUNTY "Now the farmers don't need to fund themselves. Instead the government invests in the business, and the farmers benefit."

Figures from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences show that people visiting the countryside made up one-third of domestic tourism last year. Promoting rural tourism is now a key government policy. The country is striving to retain the natural beauty of the countryside while improving the lives of those who live there. Perhaps enlightened rural flower tourism can do just that. ZHENG CHUNYING, CGTN.