Salvia miltiorrhiza (the root of red-rooted salvia) planted in a Shandong village was chosen by China's top traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) manufacturers and has become a major support for local well-beings.

The tanshinone content of the annual harvest of the herb planted in a cooperative in Zhangtiaogong village of Dezhou, East China's Shandong province is around 1 percent, while that of the national standard is 0.2 percent. The village was listed as one of the provincial demonstration bases for traditional Chinese medicine planting.

TCM material planting has created jobs for local rural residents as it requires artificial work throughout the entire process. The Zhangtiaogong village TCM planting cooperative will expand the tanshinone crop to help increase the profit for the local villagers.