Nurtured by nature

Row after row of pot plants suspended from the roof with lines of various lengths are nurtured with the help of artificial lighting and a high-tech system that controls the temperature in a high-tech farm owned by COFCO. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]

Living in a city high rise, nature has never been so far away. Now those with no idea of where that cabbage comes from can find out

As the man in a white lab coat squats, a group of children surrounding him listen attentively.

"Vegetables usually grow from soil, but here we have vegetables growing from water and floating like little boats," the man says, pointing to cabbages beside him that are sprouting up not out of the ground but out of a shallow pond.

"That's because this is no ordinary water, but water that is nutrient-laden," the man says.

Before he can say more he is deluged with comments and questions from the children, most of whom seem to be younger than 6.

"Yes, pests and worms eat vegetables to sustain themselves, just as we do," the man says.

"Because there are wormholes, it is likely that the vegetables are free of pesticides and so safe to eat. There are no pests on the vegetables here because the vegetables are cultivated without soil."

We are not flies on a wall in an elementary school science class, but visitors to a high-tech farm owned by COFCO, China's largest State-owned agricultural company.

Every weekend and during holidays the farm, 38 kilometers south of Beijing, is swarmed by visitors young and old, mostly parents with young children, eager to get in touch with a side of life that - a few parks notwithstanding - seems to be missing in the city: nature.

Instead they turn their back on other forms of entertainment such as going to the movies or shopping, jump into their cars and head out of the city bound for this indoor farm, which covers more than 80,000 square meters and which resembles a science museum.

Here they will find row after row of pot plants suspended from the roof with lines of various lengths, nurtured with the help of artificial lighting and a high-tech system that controls the temperature. In dedicated cultivating rooms they will be able to see rare species, such as lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum), an expensive mushroom that many Asians believe has special life-giving properties.

There are plants from tropical areas and greenhouses planted with countless types of flowers and succulent plants.

Outside there are grasslands, and fields in which vegetables, fruit and flowers are grown.

And just in case this heavy dose of nature proves to be a little too much, there are family game areas inside and outside, including a theater and a basketball court.