Rose farming in a remote west Chinese village on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, the world's highest plateau, has paved a path to prosperity for local women. In China's western regions like Sichuan, Yunnan, and Xizang, women have become a growing force in agriculture-based industries. It’s not just about growing the economy. It’s about bringing opportunity, and a sense of dignity, to people once left behind. Xiaojin County of southwest China's Sichuan Province locates at the foot of the Jiajin Mountain, with an average altitude of nearly 3,000 meters. Most villagers here used to scrape a living with the traditional crops, like potatoes and peas, which were often ruined by wild boars.
However, the villagers have turned to rose planting as a means of sustenance in Xiaojin County today. There are very few vast fields of roses stretching as far as the eyes can see. But here, what dominates are these small, family-run rose plots. That means these farmers, mostly women and the elderly, can work right outside their home, tend to their fields, and look after their family at the same time. "Life used to be really hard. Women stayed home with the kids, relying on the men to earn money. Now, with roses, we women can earn our own income," said Li Deqin, a flower farmer in Xiaojin County. It all started with a woman some 15 years ago, Chen Wanghui, a village Communist Party official, an entrepreneur, known simply as the "Rose Sister". She was informed that planting roses would be much more profitable as the rose essence oil was considered as precious as gold. But she wasn't dreaming so big.
"Forget gold. As long as it does better than our potatoes and beans, I'm happy," Chen said. Chen decided to change the situation at the time. She bought rose saplings herself and invited experts to teach the villagers how to grow roses. Subsequently, she set up a cooperative and promised to purchase the roses at above-market prices.
Confident in the quality of these blooms, Chen pays about 30 percent above China's average market price.
"Our rose petals are thicker, the blooms are bigger, and there are more buds. We irrigate with snowmelt water and use farmyard manure," Chen said.
At a local factory, the roses take on new lives. The freshest blooms are hand-selected for flower tea, while the rest are distilled into essential oil and rose water -- bound for cosmetics and food.
"It takes about 300 roses to produce a single drop of essential oil. This is the legendary 'liquid gold' that inspired me to plant them," Chen said.
Today, these rose products have traveled far beyond the mountains of Xiaojin -- reaching buyers in Japan, Korea and even Bulgaria. This once-isolated mountain village is now trading with the rest of the world.
"We've become stricter about planting and processing. Only by setting high standards can we reach the market and open a broader path," Chen said.
Now as the plateau roses are gaining increasing popularity, the booming flowers are just as glamorous as the life of local people.
"This is nature's gift. When I see so many villagers smiling because of these roses, I want to give everything I have and hold nothing back," she added.
Rose farming in west China's Qinghai-Xizang Plateau paves path to prosperity for women
