Jin Tianying's job was not exactly torture, but three years ago, after eight years in the television industry, and as routine 14-hour work days exacted their toll, the producer decided to harken the call to greener and more fulfilling pastures, quitting her job and becoming a full-time plants grower.

This is not just any genus we are talking about, but duo rou zhi wu, literally greasy plants, generally known as succulents. On the look-at-me scale these plants are at the opposite end to the biggest, brightest sunflower. Instead they sit there - in their thousands of varieties - small, unassuming and undemanding,

Their fleshy leaves that can store a lot of water are a perfect foil in a dry environment such as that of Beijing, and perhaps this little need for care is one prime reason that Chinese city dwellers in particular are giving them the kind of welcome that otherwise seems to be given only to cats and dogs.