Trend sends urbanites foraging for wild picks

These days, urban youth have been flooding suburban parks, forests and fields, clutching handheld spades and shovels to forage for wild vegetables.

In the old days, people searched for such seasonal greens to supplement meager diets.

These days, they do it for fun.

It has become a social media trend, and the relevant hashtag on the lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu (RedNote) has garnered over 210 million views by May.

Many young people view it as a new way to socialize and even date.

In Shanghai, some of the most popular edible wild plants are wild spring onions, jicai (shepherd's purse), malantou greens and caotou (grass tips).

Huang Chang, a 30-year-old freelancer from Southwest China's Guizhou province, who has lived in Shanghai for five years, says that in late February, a male friend — also a potential love interest — invited her to collect wild vegetables for the first time. Huang says it was unexpectedly enjoyable.

They joined friends in early spring to visit Tangxia Express in the city's Pudong New Area and harvested two bags of wild onions. Huang added them to scrambled eggs and fried them to make flavored oil for noodles. Both were good. The wild kinds aren't as big as those found in supermarkets but taste better than those in stores or restaurants.

"I never thought there would be something that could offer me such an experience in the city. I did stuff like this with older family members in my hometown as a kid. It was like reliving my childhood memories and regaining my sense of seasonal change," she says.

She says the harvest is more than the vegetables but also the time spent in nature. She enjoys the instinctive and meditative act of searching for the plants. And she enjoys the sound and smell of uprooting the veggies.

The experience also gave Huang time to learn about the guy who invited her.

He researched the location and basic knowledge, and also prepared tools, food, fruit, coffee and camping equipment for rest times.

"I can see that he is very careful, thoughtful and considerate to details, which is very important to me," she says.

"Organizing such an activity involves much more effort and deliberation than meals or movies. In the lush areas, we both showed more natural and sincere sides of ourselves," she adds.

Foraging provided an opportunity for Huang and her suitor to get a first taste of time together. But Shanghai resident Xu Zixuan and his girlfriend say hunting for wild vegetables seasons their two-year relationship.