Flower industry thrives in SW China's Yunnan, lifts incomes for growers

With mild winters and cool summers, Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County in southwest China's Yunnan Province provides an ideal environment for the flower industry.

"Our roses are sold nationwide and exported to Vietnam, Thailand, Russia and more countries," said Yang Guiying, head of a flower company in Luquan.

Farmers pick roses in Diduo neighborhood, Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Huang Xinghong)

Born and raised in Luquan, Yang was assigned a job in her hometown after graduating from college in the 1990s. Confident in the promising future of the flower industry, she chose to resign and move to Kunming, the provincial capital, to work for a flower company. There, she spent two years systematically learning agricultural and cultivation techniques before eventually launching her own business.

Over the past decade or more, Yang's rose plantation has expanded from an initial 10 mu (0.67 hectares) to 100 mu, employing an increasing number of farmers.

A farmer sorts roses in Diduo neighborhood, Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Huang Xinghong)

In recent years, Yang has introduced new rose varieties, promoted modern cultivation techniques, and expanded her sales channels while refining her management approach. By linking growers' incomes directly to their production results, she has given them a stronger incentive to farm more diligently.

Local villager Yang Hancai is one of the beneficiaries of this model. Yang Guiying not only provided Yang Hancai and his wife with greenhouses and accommodation, but also trained them in cultivation techniques. The couple contracted 7 mu of land for rose cultivation, and today their household annual income has surpassed 100,000 yuan ($14,500).

Yang Guiying employs more than 20 flower farmers like Yang Hancai on a long-term basis at her rose plantation. During the peak summer harvest season, she also hires additional temporary workers, with annual labor costs exceeding 1 million yuan.

Farmers pack flowers in Diduo neighborhood, Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Photo/Huang Xinghong)

In 2025, Luquan developed 25,900 mu of land for flower cultivation, generating a total output value of 1.9 billion yuan.