Beauty products made from plum blossoms. [Photo/Tide News]

The Oriental Plum Garden in Changxing county, Huzhou, Zhejiang province, recently displayed a picturesque scene with blooming plum flowers.

Changxing boasts over 60 varieties of red plum blossoms, planted on an area of more than 5,333 hectares. The history of plum blossom cultivation in the county dates back a millennium.

In the past, plum trees primarily produced green plum fruits, mainly for food processing. Wu Xiaohong, head of the Oriental Plum Garden, revolutionized the industry by grafting high-quality plum varieties onto discarded green plum tree trunks, transitioning from green plum trees to red plum trees for ornamental purposes.

Over the years, Changxing's red plum blossoms have expanded nationwide to cities such as Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Wuhan.

Traditionally, plum blossoms were underutilized for cosmetics and fragrance products. Wu's breakthrough in dwarfing plum blossom trees enabled the extraction of essence, leading to the development of plum blossom fragrances.

Despite initial setbacks in preserving the authentic scent, years of research by Wu's team culminated in technologies such as "low-temperature cold extraction" and "natural essence physical concentration", ensuring the purity of plum blossom fragrances.

Wu's team is now exploring the medicinal value of plum blossoms and their fusion with tea leaves for beverages.

The Changxing plum blossoms, helped along with technology, are spreading their fragrance far and wide.