Pioneering group swapping spreadsheets for soil

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Farmers' lives are hard for many reasons, so it is unlikely that droves of tired city dwellers will migrate to the countryside anytime soon. Still, city people seek and appreciate a taste of farm life and enjoy visiting the countryside on weekends with their families.

Zhang Meng organizes at least one event on his Shunyi farm every season, attracting sizable crowds. In addition to showing children how food is grown, he brews his own beer for the events and invites bands to perform, which reflects his hippie nature.

Chung Hsueh-ling, a 50-something Taiwan native, runs a farm in Beijing's Changping district with her husband. She estimates that about 60 families rent vegetable plots there every year, and she welcomes customers any day of the week.

"I like them to come to my farm, because it is easy to say a lot of nice things about it. But if you come, you can experience it for yourself and see whether you like it or not," she said.

On the morning of Nov 3, staff members from two schools led two groups of young students and their parents on a tour of Chung's farm. Dressed in cute Halloween costumes, the young visitors followed the tour guides, learning about the different types of vegetables grown at the farm, pulling the largest cabbage heads out of the soil, and cutting fresh sugarcane and pushing the stems through a hand-powered machine to extract the juice.

Amid the bustle, Luo Dan worked quietly on her small vegetable plot in a corner of the farm. She is one of Chung's long-time customers and has rented a plot for more than three years.

"The motivation for renting a vegetable plot is to give my child a well-rounded education," Luo said. "We often do simple things like sowing seeds, harvesting produce and experiencing the cycle of the seasons, so my child will become attuned to nature and will also gain a good perception of it."

However, it is difficult for many city people to maintain a rented vegetable plot. Zhang Zhengang, who frequents Chung's farm with his 8-year-old son, said: "Most people still only come for the experience. To actually farm your own plot takes up a lot of time. Children in China are having a tough time (in terms of educational pressures and extracurricular classes), so they probably don't have a lot of free time."

Luo, who visits her plot at least once a week to work or allow her son to play on the land, agreed. "This is really normal; every family's priorities are different. We have already formed a habit by coming to the farm regularly," she said.

Despite the many challenges facing the urbanites-turned-farmers, none has regretted the rural migration.

Wang completed a three-year apprenticeship under accomplished farmers after he experienced failure in his first year, and his parents still disapprove of his choice to this day. Despite that, he is undeterred.

"From the start to this day, my parents have been really against this," he said. "Compared with my previous job, this is definitely more laborious and the income is not as good－that's how they see it." Fortunately for Wang, his income has risen in the past few years.

Ding was luckier in that her parents and friends were mostly supportive of her decision to turn to agriculture.

"They didn't oppose it," she said, when asked about her parents' reaction. "They are more curious about what farming is about, as they have not tried it before."

Several of Zhang Meng's customers have urged him to reconsider his current lifestyle choice, asking him to seriously evaluate how it will affect his family in the future.

However, the father of a 4-year-old is keen to continue because he wants to do something he believes is worthwhile. His customers are another reason he wants to continue.

"I have been in a dilemma several times. There are a lot of times when I don't want to do it anymore because there are a lot of complicated problems. Even though it's been going very well, I am already 27. I don't have accumulated wealth. Though I live a more leisurely life than people leading fast-paced lives in the city, I also have tough times. Accumulating wealth takes too long," he said.

"This profession needs young people to join in. If they don't, it (farming culture) is not possible. Young people need to join in to make it like other jobs with a stable income and a normal work-life balance, and at the same time healthier than other jobs. Then, more young people will choose the profession. If this can't be done, no one will do it. If no one does this, it will represent the decline of farming (culture)."