Ruoye from Suichang county in Lishui, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Lishui Daily]

During peak harvest season, villagers in Xiaoyan village in Lishui's Suichang county, Zhejiang province, gather daily to pick fresh ruoye (a kind of broad bamboo leaves) from their plantation.

Once hindered by poor management, unstable prices and limited sales channels, the leaf industry has now become the village's economic backbone.

Xiaoyan village established a standardized production base, launched a local common prosperity workshop, and set up a rural livestreaming room to expand sales both online and offline.

Meanwhile, mobile supply trucks from the county's supply and marketing cooperative are dispatched to the village to purchase leaves on the spot, ensuring prompt payment and consistent quality before delivering them to the southern Zhejiang ruoye market for processing.

Suichang, home to 300,000 mu (20,000 hectares) of wild ruoye, has established a party-building industrial alliance and a cluster of prosperity workshops centered on the southern Zhejiang market, with five cooperatives and family farms serving as regional hubs.

Over the past three years, annual output of Suichang's ruoye has exceeded 3,500 metric tons, generating over 100 million yuan ($14.72 million) in value. The industry supports more than 3,800 rural households, each earning an extra 20,000 yuan per year on average.