By placing the flower industry, along with several others, far from the coastal provinces that have enjoyed most of the nation’s prosperity, Beijing officials hope to bring jobs to tens of millions of impoverished, isolated workers in a bid to narrow the income gap between rich city dwellers and unemployed farmers, The New York Times reported. With the first sustained exports to the United States starting later this week, some of those flowers will end up in Los Angeles, packed with red wine bottles in gift boxes; others will be sold at auction in the Netherlands. Almost overnight, growers in this poor, rural province have become big suppliers to markets from Singapore to Moscow, said the paper. “Our plan is to become the biggest flower producer and exporter in Asia in 10 to 15 years,” and possibly the world’s largest after the Netherlands, said Li Gang, the deputy chief of the Flower Association, a provincial government agency. The government has dedicated a huge effort to making all this possible. Extending its top-notch infrastructure inland, it is building 12-lane roads, sturdy bridges and international airports in this strategically critical area. Elsewhere in China’s poor inland provinces, similar investments are helping industries making everything from shoes to electronics to cars. China is mainly trying to export roses, which have a high value per pound and can most easily be transported long distances with limited damage. Lilies can be shipped by air and have high value but must be handled with considerable care, so China is starting to export them to closer markets like Singapore.