Beijing's cold, dry winters are no longer known as "the season of
cabbage."
Gone are the days when locals stock up on piles of cabbage to tide
them over during the freezing months. Instead, Beijing in winter
now boasts a feast of fresh vegetables, fruits and dairy
products.
Indeed, suburban agriculture has come into its own.
"Row upon row of greenhouses, amounting to more than 24,012
hectares, allows us to maintain a good living quality for locals in
winter," said Nie Yuzao, vice-director of the Agricultural Work
Office under the Beijing Municipal Government.
From the greenhouses, bountiful daily supplies flow to hundreds of
markets scattered in Beijing's various residential squares.
Seventy-old Wang Shulin, who lives in southern Beijing's Chongwen
District, said it is a welcome change.
"I
no longer need to summon my two sons to compete for cheap cabbage
at the beginning of winter and then bargain with my neighbours for
space to store my cabbage piles," she said.
Now she simply strolls to a nearby community supermarket to buy
only what she can carry. There is no need to buy in bulk because
the store restocks its fruit and vegetable section every morning
with fresh offerings.
Nie said he was confident that Beijingers will enjoy a Spring
Festival with plenty of colourful food supplies at reasonable
prices.
Most of the fresh vegetables, fruits, meat, milk, and eggs sold at
Beijing markets comes from the suburbs.
The development of Beijing's suburban agriculture benefits Beijing
farmers as well as the downtown population. "It's a win-win
situation," Nie said.
He
said the change from solely planting grain to producing more
lucrative varieties allowed the per capital annual disposable
income of Beijing farmers to exceed 5,000 yuan (US$603.9) last year
for the first time.
As
a result, local farmers are leading a more and more comfortable
life.
Last year's retail turnover of commodities in suburban Beijing
increased at a rate above 10 percent, while that of urban Beijing
increased at a rate of 5 percent.
(China
Daily January 15, 2002)