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)