Shared gardens are sprouting up across the Chinese mainland, captivating urban dwellers seeking a touch of nature amidst bustling city life. On sunny weekends, UrFarms, a shared garden in east China’s Shanghai, welcomes up to 100 families eager to nurture their own plots of land.
Established in October, UrFarms offers customers the chance to rent a piece of land and select from a variety of vegetables to plant. Participants engage in the full farming experience, from planting seeds to harvesting crops. For those with busy schedules, the farm provides caretaking services for a fee.
“Most people rent a garden and ask for our help to look after the vegetables. They come once every two weeks,” said Kluer Lin, founder of UrFarms. This flexible approach allows urban families to reconnect with nature without the demands of daily farming.
Beyond gardening, UrFarms entices visitors with activities like horse riding, tea tasting, and camping, transforming the farm into a holistic retreat from city life. The rise of shared gardens like UrFarms reflects a growing trend among China’s urban population to seek sustainable and communal lifestyles.
The popularity of these shared gardens is evident on social media platforms, where discussions about urban farming and shared green spaces are flourishing. As more city residents embrace this movement, shared gardens are becoming vibrant hubs of community and environmental engagement across the Chinese mainland.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
