China: Lavender industry blossoms in northwestern Chinese village.

Storyline Lavender industry blossoms in northwestern Chinese village Zhang Shiqing, Reporter: "Imagine swapping your daily commute for this. I'm standing in the middle of a lavender field in Sigong Village, Xinjiang — about 2,000 acres of it, all in bloom right now. The locals call this place the 'Wandering Village', and honestly, I think that says it all. With the sunshine on your face and the scent of flowers calming you down, rushing feels almost impossible." Tourist: "Two words: pure bliss. My worries just melted away—this place feels genuinely therapeutic." The slow pace, it turns out, has also proved good for business. Nestled at the edge of a purple field, Chen Lin's café is hard to miss. Behind the counter, she gently stirs house-made lavender syrup into steamed milk and espresso before topping it with flower petals. It's her latest creation: a lavender latte you won't find on any chain menu. Chen Lin, Café Owner: "Lavender is what our village is known for, so I wanted to create drinks inspired by it. Lavender is being grown on a much larger scale now, and the village just keeps getting more beautiful. I'm very confident about the future of rural tourism here." Across the village, young people like Chen are opening photo studios, boutique guesthouses and other creative businesses. Visitors can also get hands-on with the harvest - joining distillation workshops to extract their own essential oil, or crafting soap to take home. The surge in tourism has sparked real economic growth. For longtime resident Li Guixiang, the village today is almost unrecognizable. Li Guixiang, Local Resident: "Growing lavender has brought tourism to our village. Now the houses are getting nicer and nicer, and every family has a car. Sometimes when I go to visit someone, I can barely find my way anymore — it's changed that much." The results speak for themselves. In 2025, Sigong Village welcomed around 800,000 visitors. Collective village income exceeded 2.9 million yuan, while residents' average disposable income reached 23,000 — about 60 percent higher than in 2019. What began as a field of lavender has blossomed into new opportunities for the whole village. [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]