Integrated Farming within Rural Chinese Villages

 On a weekend trip to Anhui province in rural China, I encountered many agricultural plots nestled within the ancient village fabric of Xidi. The surrounding countryside is filled with terraces of tea plants and vegetables, but these practices continue within the village wherever space is available. This small courtyard is used for ornamental shrubs and some impressive pumpkin vines extending overhead with a simple cable system. 

This canal system shown above is fed by a local river, creating access to water for cooking. cleaning, and of course, some edible landscape elements. This planter is only a fraction of a meter wide, but allows these squash vines to happily inhabit the space.

I stumbled upon this larger private garden within Xidi's labyrinth of narrow alleys. This farmer is growing some corn, squash, long-beans, and eggplant.    

Shanghai Alley Agriculture

 In the narrow alleys outside of Xintiandi, a posh district of converted historic shikumen housing in Shanghai, the local residents make full use of their small planter beds. This one is packed to the brim with squash vines, figs, tomatoes, peppers, and several other unidentified greens. 

These residents are using small planters for some peppers and squash next to some azaleas and a nice rose vine. It's surprising how much is growing with the limited light available within this narrow alley. 

Grapes? Yes, please. I'm not sure if they're for eating, or ornamental, or maybe they're home-vintners. When space is tight, why not go vertical? 

This alley is full of good things. They're mostly ornamentals, but I do see a loquat tree in there.

Gardening in the slums of Nanjing

In the Chang gan li neighborhood of South Nanjing, in the fabric of rundown alley-style housing, left-over space is valuable for micro-agriculture. It's not about making a statement on local food; it's about convenient and free produce. The climate is warm and humid, with plenty of summer rain, making growing conditions highly suitable for a range of fruits and vegetables. Here, the residents have a nice plot of greens and peppers.

A healthy grape-vine reaching into the tree canopy.

This garden plot is adjacent to a community center, placed next to the basketball courts and outdoor fitness stations shown below. 

Rooftop gardens in Shanghai?!

Amid the skyscraping towers and ever-present haze of Shanghai, this rooftop garden is thriving. Despite my outsider view of China as smog-choked and green-less, I have witnessed many instances of food cultivation within city limits. This may be a progressive idea in America, where most of our farms are more like tomato-factories, but here it is a simple and inexpensive method of procuring one's dinner.