A village in Yongde county, Lincang city, southwest China’s Yunnan Province presents a stunning view: neatly arranged rows of blooming Rosa chinensis, commonly known as the Chinese rose, stretch out like a sea of flowers.
For a long time, despite its rich germplasm resources, Yongde has been overlooked as a major player in the rose industry, much like how a good wine can go unnoticed if its too far off the beaten path.
This was a nationwide issue, as discovered in 2012 by Li Shubin, a doctoral student at the time. During a research visit to France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), he realized that the lack of Chinese developed varieties of the Chinese rose was perplexing even to foreigners.
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