The floating farms
By Zhu Jingning
Your favorite vegetables may come from a vegetable farm floating on the lake.
Recently, farmers in Chun'an county have embraced the harvest season of water celery on ecological floating islands.
From January to May every year, it is a good time for the growth of water celery which is popular due to its fresh and crunchy taste and nutritional values.
Aquatic economic plants are alternately cultivated on the island to achieve perennial plant growth to purify nitrogen and phosphorus as well as to improve the water quality of the lake. As a water-cleaning agricultural project, the floating gardens not only supply aquatic vegetables for sale but also serve as habitats for fish and birds.
At present, more than 66,600㎡ ecological floating islands in the lake area are built to improve the biodiversity of the water ecosystem. The local authorities are striving to explore more ways of developing the green economy in the reservoir.