Villagers living in the Feihuyu Valley of underdeveloped Yuxian County in North China's Hebei Province never dreamed that a flower would change their life so drastically.

The accidental finding of edelweiss, common in Austria, Switzerland and Egypt, two years ago by a well-known writer, not only helped draw public attention to the remote valley but also brought in considerable tourist revenue for the county.

"I was so surprised to find countless edelweiss flowers -- which are regarded as precious in many countries -- spread all over the 36-square-kilometre grassland," said Feng Jicai, a novelist based in Tianjin, in a spot inspection earlier this week.

He recalled that a specimen of edelweiss was given to him as a special gift when he visited Austria in 2003.

Feng first visited Yuxian County two years ago, when he was invited to attend a forum on paper-cutting art, which is an indigenous craft in the mountainous county, which is only 200 kilometres northwest of Beijing.

Edelweiss is also a household name in China thanks to the song of the same name from the movie "the Sound of Music." Most Chinese do not get a chance to see the flower with their own eyes, though they know it is "small and white, clean and bright" as the song tells them.

In 2003, the government of Yuxian mapped out a blueprint to develop recreational tourism in the area using the edelweiss and the "grassland higher up," the plains over 2,000 metres above sea level as selling points. .

"According to my research, the grassland here is the country's largest edelweiss covered area," said Yang Xun, a botany professor from Hebei University.

The number of tourists, mainly from Zhangjiakou, Beijing and Tianjin, jumped to 15,000 last year from 1,000 in 2003, said Li Hongxing, head of the county.

During the first seven months this year, more than 150,000 tourists visited the county, contributing 47 million yuan (US$5.8 million) to the local economy, he said.

"Increasing tourism revenue speeds up the construction of infrastructure projects in this region and increases the income of local farmers," he said.

"The highest daily income can reach 200-300 yuan (US$24.7-37) by renting horses to tourists on Saturdays and Sundays from July to September," said Feng Zhigang, a local villager.

He told reporters that villagers let their horses and sheep graze on the grassland, but two years ago restrictions were put in place to forbid random grazing.

"Excessive tourism may destroy the natural resources," warned writer Feng Jicai. "Such short-sightedness may smash the rice bowl of the posterity."

(China Daily August 29, 2005)