KALE RISES FROM BITTER HARVEST TO POPULAR, HEALTHY 'SUPERFOOD'

Growers reap profits from improved crops, exports, strong domestic demand

Editor's note: In a series of reports titled "Claims to Fame", China Daily looks at how some regions have earned wealth and recognition through specific products to advance economic development.

Twenty years ago, Wang Cuifen took her first bite of kale. The memory of that experience remains vivid to this day.

"It was awful, not just bad, but almost inedible. Bitter, astringent and even a bit salty," she said. "What could foreigners possibly want with such a terrible vegetable?"