Sweet smell of success

Holding a small bottle of rose otto, Li Jiyong, a farmer in suburban Beijing, marvels that the same hands that once carried buckets of manure have actually created this "liquid gold".

"Nothing is impossible if you devote yourself to it," says 46-year-old Li, who runs the Beijing Rose Valley Perfume Co Ltd.

Growing up in Mentougou in western Beijing, Li dropped out of school at 9 owing to poverty, and helped his parents with farm work. "Most of the time I had to collect droppings," Li recalls. Later, he learned driving, became a driver, and then a building contractor.