Personal stories and production narratives of smallholders, individual farmers, and family farms.
Before winding eastwards into Beijing’s urban centre, the Yongding River traces a series of U-shaped bends through the hills. The villages of Longjiazhuang and Shuiyuzui lie on opposite banks, linked by a single road bridge. From 29 July to 2 August, extreme rainfall across the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region caused the Yongding…
Foodthink Says In 1924, Fei Dasheng, along with teachers and students from the Jiangsu Provincial Women’s Sericulture School, arrived in Kaixiangong Village, Wujiang County, to found the Silk Improvement Society. Nearly a century has passed since then. Later, his younger brother, Fei Xiaotong, wove the society’s experiences into his doctoral…
“Whenever I travel to a new place, the first thing I do upon arrival is ask the locals where the market is.” In June, much as food writer Han Liangyi describes in *Wandering Through Markets Around the World*, I embarked on a market tour of Barcelona, Spain. Rather than the…
In recent days, the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, still reeling from the aftermath of the heaviest rainfall in six decades, has once again been gripped by heatwaves following the start of autumn. This summer has truly been a trial by fire and flood, reminding the public yet again of the formidable power…
Two summers ago, I graduated with a master’s in sociology and, equal parts eager and apprehensive, joined a top-tier real estate company to work in agriculture. Three seemingly unconnected paths had just converged. Choosing a career against the conventional grain initially left my family and friends utterly baffled. Yet, I…
In this episode of *Food Talk*, we welcome back an old friend, Sun Shan. She previously worked with several charitable organisations, including the Shanshui Conservation Centre. These days, she runs her own farm in Canada. Far from the idyllic notion of spending every waking moment in nature, ecological conservation work…
I. Dried produce can continue to be sold The Measures for the Quality and Safety Supervision and Administration of Edible Agricultural Products in Market Sales (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Measures’), long awaited by farmers across the country, have finally been issued. Compared with the consultation draft previously released, the…
Last year, Foodthink published an article 《Taking an Internet Celebrity Home to Sell Navel Oranges: Only Then Did We Realise How Tough Life Is for Fruit Farmers》. In it, Fengche, who works in Guangzhou, shares her story of returning to her hometown to help sell oranges for her family, which…
Which are the finest lychee-growing regions in Guangdong? Zhong Ge and Guo Rui, villagers from Yinlin in Conghua, answered in unison: Conghua would undoubtedly rank among the best. They maintain that a lychee’s quality depends not merely on latitude, but also on local microclimates. Conghua’s crop has long been celebrated…
Earlier this year, four years after moving to the Netherlands, my partner and I finally rented a hectare of land in Utrecht province, and I began working on my farm. Before I decided to set up a farm, I completed placements at several small organic farms in the Netherlands. During…
