Personal stories and production narratives of smallholders, individual farmers, and family farms.
Taking the high-speed rail from the south exit of Xizhimen, we crossed the peaks of the Yanshan Mountains and arrived at the Huailai Basin. Though it had been less than an hour since leaving Beijing, the scenery had already completely transformed—into wide, flat plains and stretches of maize fields and…
Before flowing east into the urban areas of Beijing, the Yongding River forms several U-shaped bends following the mountain terrain; Longjiazhuang and Shuiyuzui villages are situated on opposite banks of the river. A road bridge connects the two villages. Between 29 July and 2 August, extreme rainfall across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei…
Foodthink says In 1924, Fei Dasheng and the teachers and students of the Jiangsu Provincial Girls’ Sericulture School arrived at Kaixiangong Village in Wujiang County and established the Silk Improvement Society, which has now existed for nearly a century. Later, the experiences of this cooperative were documented by Fei Dasheng’s…
“Whenever I arrive in a foreign land, the first thing I do is ask the locals where the market is.” In June this year, mirroring the experiences of food writer Han Liangyi in *Wandering Through the World’s Markets*, I embarked on a journey of markets in Barcelona, Spain. Of the…
Recently, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, still reeling from the “heaviest rainfall in 60 years”, has begun to experience high temperatures following the start of autumn. This summer has truly been a case of “deep waters and scorching fires”, once again demonstrating the severity of extreme weather events to the public. While…
Two summers ago, I graduated with a Master’s in Sociology and joined a leading real estate company to work in agriculture, feeling a mix of anticipation and anxiety. Three seemingly unrelated paths converged in this way; my decision to veer away from the mainstream career trajectory left my family and…
In this episode of Food Talk, we are joined by our old friend, Sun Shan. Having previously worked for several non-profit organisations, including the Shan Shui Conservation Center, she now runs her own farm in Canada. Contrary to the idyllic image of spending one’s days in harmony with nature, ecological…
I. Dried produce can be sold again The *Administrative Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Quality and Safety of Edible Agricultural Products in Market Sales* (hereinafter referred to as the “Measures”), a matter of great concern to farmers across the country, have finally been released. Compared to the previously…
At the end of last year, Foodthink published an article titled “Bringing an Influencer Home to Sell Navel Oranges: Only Then Did I Realise How Hard Life Is for Fruit Farmers”. In the piece, Fengche, who works in Guangzhou, shares the story of her return home to help her family…
Which are the premium lychee-growing regions of Guangdong? Zhong-ge and Guo Rui, residents of Yinlin Village in Conghua, answer in unison: Conghua is certainly among the best. In their view, the quality of a lychee depends not only on latitude but also on the local microclimate. Conghua’s lychees have long…
