Red roses bloom on Dahei Mountain, as Duan Zhikui, Chairman of Hengyi, turns his agricultural dream into reality

Yunnan Baoshan Hengyi Industrial Group was established in 2003, with its predecessor being the Tengchong Ruihe Business Department founded in 1996. After over 20 years of operation, it has now developed into a diversified and large-scale group company. The group has total assets of 5 billion yuan, with main industries spanning eight sectors: mining, real estate, finance, hydropower development, modern logistics, ecological agriculture, cultural tourism and health care, and international capacity cooperation. It owns 34 subsidiaries, employs over 2,000 people, and achieves an annual turnover of more than 3 billion yuan.

In 2016, responding to national policies such as targeted poverty alleviation and "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," Hengyi Group leveraged the natural, ecological, and climatic advantages of Tengchong to venture into the "big agriculture" sector. After multiple field investigations and repeated evaluations, and with strong support from the Tengchong Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, Hengyi Group signed a cooperation agreement with Mr. Wang Jinming, known as the "Father of Chinese Damask Roses," utilizing his patented cultivation and extraction technology for Damask Rose No. 3. The project involved planting and deep processing Damask Rose No. 3 on 10,000 mu of land on Dahei Mountain in Tengchong.

Damask rose belongs to the Rosaceae family and Rosa genus, being one of the ancient hybrid roses of Europe and classified as a classical garden rose. Its petals are double-layered, with slightly lighter edges and a silky texture. Its pure and delicate fragrance makes it stand out among flowers, and its rose essential oil is considered the finest, often referred to as "liquid gold." Tests have shown that Damask roses contain over 300 components (including hundreds of aromatic substances like citronellol and geraniol, as well as organic acids beneficial for beauty), with over 120 of them being effective for humans—more than 80 types more than existing domestic rose varieties.

Damask rose has the highest oil content among all global rose varieties, with a pure fragrance that has been designated as the international (standard) fragrance type. Not only are Damask roses vibrant in color and rich in aroma, suitable for use as flower walls, green screens, garden borders, and ornamental plants, but they also offer benefits such as promoting blood circulation, reducing swelling and pain, and enhancing beauty. They are also a world-renowned spice and ingredient used in tea, brewing, food, and medicine, possessing high economic value—especially the Damask rose essential oil, which is regarded as the finest of its kind. Products derived from Damask roses, such as rose essential oil and rose hydrosol, are highly valuable natural fragrances and essential ingredients for cosmetics and beauty products, as well as indispensable raw materials for pharmaceuticals, teas, food, tobacco, and alcoholic beverages.

In April 2016, Hengyi Group registered and established "Yunnan Tengchong Lusifu Biotechnology Industry Co., Ltd." Chairman Duan Zhikui immediately led his team to Guodong Dahei Mountain. With the support of local Party committees and governments, they leased over 2,000 mu of black soil land on Dahei Mountain, involving more than 500 farming households across seven villages in four towns. Due to the challenging scope and workload of the land lease process, Duan Zhikui and his team worked day and night, going door-to-door in villages with the help of local village cadres. To accelerate progress, Duan Zhikui cooperated with the two committees of the involved townships and communities to establish the Dahei Mountain Farmers' Professional Cooperative, paying the cooperative 40 yuan per mu as operational funds. After the cooperative was formed, farmers voluntarily contributed their contracted mountain land as shares to the cooperative, which then consolidated the land and leased it to Yunnan Tengchong Lusifu Biotechnology Industry Co., Ltd. at 600 yuan per mu. The lease agreement stipulated that the land lease fee would increase by 5% every five years for the first 15 years, and by 10% every five years for the subsequent 15 years. The lease term was set at 30 years.

After completing the land lease process, Duan Zhikui and his team lived and worked on Dahei Mountain, overcoming various difficulties such as drought, water scarcity, mosquito bites, dust, and poor transportation. They cleared the land and planted roses, establishing a Damask rose planting base of over 1,500 mu and constructing more than 20,000 square meters of seedling greenhouses. That year, they completed the task of transplanting nursery-grown Damask roses. The once barren hills were transformed into an oasis. As the saying goes, "Each place has its own way of nurturing its people." After receiving the land "lease fees," cooperative members took up temporary jobs at Lusifu Company during non-farming seasons, becoming local industrial workers without leaving their hometowns. They earned "wages," increased their income, improved their livelihoods, and no longer needed to seek work elsewhere—largely solving the issues of left-behind children and elderly. By the end of 2016, the company paid over 2 million yuan in wages to industrial workers, employed over 30,000 local surplus laborers cumulatively, and ensured that villagers in project areas could "work without leaving the village, earn without leaving the township, and everyone had something to do," achieving the goal of boosting local economic development through a single industry.

In 2017, Yunnan Tengchong Lusifu Biotechnology Industry Co., Ltd. completed trial production of rose essential oil. Fresh rose yield reached 60 kilograms per mu, 20% higher than the domestic level in the first year; oil yield also exceeded the domestic level of the same period. "No pain, no gain"—the Damask roses thrived under the diligent cultivation and care of Duan Zhikui and his team. At the same time, the team boldly innovated, collecting and introducing 1,200 mother plants of rose varieties nationwide, making Dahei Mountain the base with the most comprehensive rose variety resources in the country. Through introduction trials, the team overcame numerous technical challenges in cultivation, successfully resolving the critical issue of low survival rates in Damask rose seedlings. They achieved an annual production of 3 million Damask rose seedlings, establishing the largest rose seedling breeding base in Southwest China.

Walking into Dahei Mountain, the fragrance of roses fills the air as 1,500 mu of Damask roses enjoy a bountiful harvest. The "fragrance" industry has taken root here, helping local farmers increase their incomes and achieve prosperity. In the Damask rose base, blossoms compete for attention, while hundreds of flower pickers work diligently amidst the sea of blooms. Duan Zhikui explained: "In terms of product sales, domestic market demand far exceeds supply, and imports are the main source. Facts have proven that as a sightseeing agricultural project, Damask roses can yield far higher profits than vegetables or fruits—as long as the technology is reliable. If yield reaches 300 kilograms per mu, the economic, social, and ecological benefits are all favorable. Most importantly, the development of this industry can address local surplus labor employment, boost farmer incomes, and improve the ecological environment."

"The edge of a sword comes from grinding; the fragrance of roses from bitter cold." In 2018, Yunnan Tengchong Lusifu Biotechnology Industry Co., Ltd., in order to implement industrialized and scaled operations and boost farmer incomes, continuously innovated management techniques. Thanks to scientific and meticulous management, Damask rose yields remained stable or increased, the flowering period extended to 60 days, and per-mu yield surpassed that of other domestic bases built in the same period. With the arrival of peak flowering season and continuous development of the rose industry, along with rising living standards, the prices of rose products and planting benefits have been increasing year by year. The fresh rose purchase price is 15 yuan per kilogram, dried rose buds are 500 yuan per kilogram in the market, Damask rose essential oil is 100,000 yuan per kilogram, and rose hydrosol (a byproduct of essential oil extraction) is 40 yuan per kilogram. To better align products with market needs and provide consumers with organic, healthy options, the company is undergoing organic certification for the Damask rose origin to ensure the entire production and sales process is traceable. Throughout the production process, the company practices organic management, integrating information from seedling cultivation, planting, maintenance, harvesting, and distribution. Consumers can query various related information about the Dahei Mountain Damask rose base anytime, anywhere, via the internet or phone.

Looking ahead, Hengyi Group plans to lease 10,000 mu of land on Dahei Mountain. Guided by rose culture and garden health concepts, and themed around health and wellness—with Damask roses as the highlight and mixed with 1,200 rose varieties—the group is committed to creating a 4A-level tourism complex with a rose manor theme, generating over 2 billion yuan in output value. This aims to achieve integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary industries, continuously invigorating rural areas, promoting integration between industry and villages, and fostering rural prosperity.