In Shenyang village, located in Jingning She autonomous county, Lishui, Zhejiang province, succulent plants can be seen everywhere, adorning courtyard walls, stone crevices, and window sills.

The tale of this 800-year-old ancient village with succulent plants began in 2009 when Wu Yong, a young entrepreneur returning to his hometown, set up a specialized cooperative and planted succulent plants on the land.

Despite initial skepticism, Wu Yong's persistence has paid off. Starting from an annual production of 6,000 pots in the first year, the cooperative has developed into one of the largest production and sales enterprises for succulent plants in the province. It now boasts more than 400 varieties and an annual storage capacity of more than 600,000 pots.

In order to increase the villagers' income, Wu Yong not only provides jobs for left-behind local laborers, but has also established an integrated operation mechanism by means of a unified supply of seedlings and technology and unified packaging and sales.

The succulent plants themselves have also become a tourist attraction. Sun Weiping, Party secretary in the village, noted, "Shenyang is the gateway to the Daji Scenic Area in Jingning, so tourists frequently stop here to enjoy the scenery." Gradually, the charming succulent plants in Shenyang have gained popularity of their own.

Furthermore, the succulent plants have also found their way into villagers' houses, not only beautifying the village, but also driving the development of a "courtyard economy".

"While roaming through the village, tourists can conveniently purchase the plants they like," said local villager Wu Liying. "Both in terms of income and quality of life, our lives today are much better than in the past days of doing business and going off to find work outside our hometown."