Farmers in central China are reaping success with a type of lotus grown from seeds carried into space by Chinese astronauts in experiments designed to increase their yield.

Growing of the space lotus has been pioneered by Li Baocheng, who has planted and helped others to plant 5,000 mu (333 hectares) of land in Shaoyang, Hunan Province, with the aquatic perennial.

The lotuses produce stunning flowers above the shallow water they grow in and delicious, edible roots below. Their seeds are particularly prized as a food and for their use in herbal medicine.

Li’s crop on 150 mu attracts tourists to stay in his guesthouse in Shaoyang’s Dongfeng Village, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Li heard about space lotus in 2004 from a chef friend, who told him the product could make him more money than his usual crop, potatoes.

A state-backed project saw the seeds taken into space aboard satellites and spaceships in the mid-1990s. Vacuum and microgravity transformed them, according to the scientists behind the project.

In 2005, Li gave a wholesaler 5,000 yuan (USD 756) for 65 seedlings, which covered just one mu. While growing the lotus, he raised loaches, carp and mudsnails in the surrounding water. The lotus and aquatic products generated more than 15,000 yuan (USD 2,500) at the end of the year.

By day, guests at Li’s inn gorge on the visual feast of the flowers, and at night they dine on lotus and fish from the same fields.

"Even my wife, who was unemployed, began to get very busy dealing with the tourists," Li said.

"Each weekend, our village is so busy that there are often traffic jams on the country roads," said the 67-year-old.

Last year, he formed a rural cooperative in Dongfeng, bringing in extra business partners. He has also been selling seedlings to other parts of Shaoyang, charging 1,000 yuan for enough to cover one mu plus a small surcharge for technical support ("Just enough to cover the price of fuel.").

Shaoyang is famous for its Lotus Pond, the inspiration for ancient philosopher Zhou Dunyi’s renowned essay ‘Ode to the Lotus Flower.’

But there was barely any lotus production there in the years before Li had his bright spark. Now, space lotus has been planted in 11 regions of Shaoyang, and in neighbouring Hubei Province.

Li expects the amount of farmland planted with space lotus in Hunan and Hubei to double in the near future.

"I hope the growth of the lotus can help everyone in Shaoyang who loves the beautiful flowers and enable local villagers to live better lives," he said.