In Jinzhu township, Suichang county, Lishui, East China's Zhejiang province, there is a 46-hectare Chinese herbal medicine plantation, 86 percent of which is planted with Tetrastigma hemsleyanum Diels et Gilg (THDG), a Chinese traditional anti-inflammatory herbal medicine.

Who would have thought that, a few years ago, the place was a deserted mountain area?

In 2009, Fu Changyong, who started his own business in other cities, went back to his hometown to develop agriculture. He bought an abandoned block of land in the village and invested about 1 million yuan ($141,000) to plant THDG.

The road forward was not always smooth. In the early years, Fu's plantation was hit by diseases, pests and floods, but he never gave up. In 2014, Fu traveled all over the country to investigate and learn about the THDG planting techniques, and with the help of experts, he finally overcame the difficulties and managed to successfully produce THDG.

"Last year, the base's revenue reached 1.7 million yuan," said Fu. As an industry leader, Fu not only shares the planting technologies for free, but also offers seedlings to farmers at a low price or free of charge.

Led by Fu, the planting area of THDG in Suichang county expanded to 146 hectares. In 2019, the Suichang THDG received agricultural product geographical indication from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.