The county is known for its walnut production, and in Guangming village, which sits on Cangshan Mountain in the east of Yangbi, walnut trees can be seen everywhere, with the oldest boasting a history of 1,165 years.

Local farmers relied on planting walnuts for a living, but in 2017, the price of walnuts suddenly plunged by 10 yuan ($1.4) per 500 grams. The villagers could not sell their crops for a good price, and factories processing the walnuts were struggling to stay in business.

To cope with this sluggish market, the walnut growers considered establishing village cooperatives to manage and sell their produce in a more orderly way, in the hope of raising prices and the quality of their crops.

Yin also began conducting a five-year field study in 2017 to observe factors influencing the village's economic development and methods to help lift local people out of poverty.

"I saw that they had diversified the way in which walnuts were produced. The villagers established a number of cooperatives, introduced smokeless ovens to bake walnuts, and expanded the distribution channel to establish e-commerce platforms for online sales," Yin said.

"From farming to manufacturing, the walnuts produced were fully used, and the village also launched a group of specialized homestays to boost rural tourism."

During her lecture in Kunming to the Laotian village heads, Yin told them how Guangming was lifted out of poverty. The ensuing development of the walnut industry, along with accompanying measures to boost tourism, was also discussed.

"Because Guangming has a small economy, it is still exploring advanced processing of some agricultural produce, and has yet to achieve large-scale operation. However, the local tourism industry is booming due to its reliance on scenic Cangshan Mountain," Yin said.

She added that the Laotians wanted to learn more about such progress and how Guangming had achieved relatively fast economic growth, as their own villages are facing a similar situation.