For foreign visitors, Zhou suggests jasmine flowers.

"Of every 10 jasmine flower products in the world, six come from the autonomous region's Hengzhou," she says. Now, Guangxi is copyrighting jasmine products — from embroidered pouches to brocade items with jasmine motifs, or goods infused with jasmine scent.

Zhou's job is to sell products, but products need buyers. That is where tourism comes in. Major local tourism players, such as Guilin Tourism Corp, have launched nearly 80 packages for visitors at the opening of the Qianmen exhibition, including packages featuring hot springs, night cruises and accommodations.

Zheng Ningli, the company's vice-president, says the region has prepared five premium travel routes. From April to May, Guangxi's 14 cities plan to host more than 180 sanyuesan events, ranging from song fairs to intangible cultural heritage performances, and concerts by pop music stars such as Jay Chou.

Although the Qianmen exhibition runs until June 30, the real test began on April 17, and Zhou expects hundreds of thousands of visitors to travel to Guangxi for the celebration. "The seed has been planted," she says.