During the annual gathering of national legislators and policy advisers at this year's two sessions, Zhu Hong prepared a cup of tea for each participant in her panel discussion using dried chrysanthemums she had brought from home.

The flowers unfurled in the hot water as the tips of their petals stretched out to reach the sides of the cups. Chrysanthemums have become part of the lifeblood of Shanlian village in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, where Zhu is the head.

The village, with a population of more than 7,000, used to be listed among the province's poorest. A decade ago its per capita income was less than 10,000 yuan ($1,450), but that has since almost tripled.