Villagers plant orchids, and 'harvest gold'

Growing the traditional herb on trunks of oak trees has lifted more than a thousand people out of poverty

It is still early spring in southwestern China's Guizhou province, but the forest in Zhegui village is already filled with vitality: oak trunks covered with orchid-like stalks, with branches swaying in the breeze.

"They're the tiepishihu (dendrobium officinale), a valuable Chinese herbal medicine," said Ruan Jian, deputy manager of Anlong Xicheng Xiushu Agriculture and Forestry. "Zhegui village has sufficient forest coverage, with proper altitude and climatic conditions, which is very suitable for growing imitation wild dendrobium."