A painting featuring moss. [Photo/Lishui Daily]

Villagers from Maoyang township in Jingning She autonomous county, Lishui, Zhejiang province, recently created a number of paintings featuring the village's most distinctive product – moss.

The paintings, which are part of new attempts by Maoyang to further explore the moss economy, will be sold at local scenic spots, according to local media.

Maoyang cooperated with Lishui Runsheng Moss Technology Co Ltd in July 2019 to develop a moss economy. The village established the first outdoor moss cultivation base in Zhejiang.

"It doesn't take a lot of manpower to grow moss. You only need to pull out weeds and irrigate nutrients regularly. Villagers can do other farm work at the same time," said Mao Junwu, the secretary of Maoyang village Party branch. According to Mao, villagers can earn more than 2,000 yuan ($286) a month by growing moss.

A moss green belt in Lishui. [Photo/lsnews.com.cn]

At present, Lishui is trying to use moss to create street green belts with moss grown in Maoyang.

According to experts, due to its biological characteristics, moss can not only absorb automobile exhaust and dust, effectively improving urban air quality, but also acts like a sponge during heavy rain, thereby playing a role in regulating soil and water.