A natural approach

Permaculture

At the beginning, the land that he rented in Chongming was nothing more than an unruly patch of weeds and some scattered rice fields. Today, the space has been dramatically transformed into a farm with a rice field, a lotus pond, pavilions, boathouses, docks and corners where his daughters spend their leisure time chasing butterflies or enjoying the waterway.

Xiong's reverence for nature is reflected in the name of his farm, which is a combination of the characters, chunting, which mean Chinese toon tree, and pumen, which refers to permaculture, a concept for sustainable farming and living created by Australian ecologists Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s.

At Xiong's farm, ducks are deployed to get rid of insects and weeds in the field, and their excrement is used as fertilizer for crops. The two toilets built on stilts above the field are also used as fertilizer sources. Modern farming solutions are hardly used.

"The philosophy of permaculture is inspired by various cultures and I think it is very similar to the Chinese notion of fostering harmony between humans and nature," says Xiong.

"Over the four seasons, you will see blossoming flowers and dead leaves. You will harvest fruits and see them wither. Nature is just like life-it is filled with ups and downs. There will always be difficulties and you need to get used to that," he adds.