When the forsythia flowers bloom in March and April, Caozhuanggou village in Pingshun county, Shanxi, becomes a destination for many sightseeing tourists.

The small flowers are not eye-catching when there are one or two trees on the roadside. However, they make a spectacle when vast slopes are covered by such yellow blossoms.

For Liu Junping, Party secretary of the village, forsythia is an even bigger industry than mere sightseeing.

He said forsythia has been a valuable medical herb for hundreds of years as its seeds, roots, stems, petals and leaves can be used to produce traditional Chinese medicines.

Liu has been engaged in the collection, planting and sales of the herb for eight years.

"People usually collect the herb in the wilderness," Liu said.

However, the village chief decided to establish an artificial plantation this year as the authorities of Shanxi announced it would develop the herbal tea industry as one of its local economic pillars.

Lou Yangsheng, Party secretary of the province, and Shanxi Governor Lin Wu attended a promotional fair for local herbal teas in Taiyuan on March 20. They urged for the herbal tea industry to be developed into one of the pillars of the rural economy in Shanxi to boost growth and help farmers increase their incomes.