The year 2020 marks an unusual period.

Journalists of Dongfang Chengxiang Bao · Shang Nong remained true to their original goal and walked through the rural lands to record what happened there throughout the year.

When stricken hard by the outbreak of the pandemic, farmers still worked hard to guarantee a sufficient supply of vegetables, a big relief for our anxiety; in the spring, the blossom of lives cleared up the clouds over everyone’s head; the Double 5 Shopping Festival started the dual circulation, which brought fruits and vegetables with big discounts to consumers; in the autumn, to celebrate Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival, the municipality launched a big event themed on “Celebration of Harvest, Respect for Farmers and Rewards to Citizens” where we met with each other, possibly for the first time, though with a feeling of deja vu...

As recorders of agriculture, rural areas and farmers in Shanghai, we try to comb through the meaningful moments that happened in the last year. As we can only provide a perspective of a media house, or that of a journalist at the front line, our combing-through may not provide a panorama covering all types of events and giving expert opinions. Nonetheless, our presentation is full of sincerity and our best wishes for the future.

Let’s go to enjoy the rural scenery on the outskirts of Shanghai! This is our promise to you. We now invite you to join us on a looking-back on the moments and thoughts during the last year. A looking-back of the past is to wish the best for the future! This is our sole and ultimate goal.

Topic of the Year: 10-Year Fishing Moratorium

The 10-Year fishing moratorium is a historical landmark in preserving the Yangtze River and an unprecedentedly great move in the history of the Chinese nation. “From 0 o’clock of January 1, 2021, the 10-year fishing ban will take full effect across all major waterways of the Yangtze River.” The short video announcing the ban received over 3.3 million views on the Douyin’s andWeChatChannels’ accounts of the Committee of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Shanghai, becoming the year’s short video champion published by the committee in terms of views. “Paying attention to the interests of the whole and for the benefit of our children”, the 10-year fishing moratorium has become a consensus of the year. In a decade, we will see a more vibrant Yangtze River.

Case of the Year: Interactive Development of Five Villages

“Maintaining harmony in diversity” is a distinct feature in the interactive development of five villages in Luojing Town, Baoshan District. A 21 km-long tourism route connects the industries, culture and ecosystems in these five villages, with popular tourism attractions springing up and convenient facilities providing strong support to the tourism; while integrated for development, the five villages, covering a land of 13 km2, also have their own differentiated orientations of rice, crab, vegetable, flower, and dim sum respectively, providing a model for regional industrial layout. Extending from dotted attractions to a vast landscape, such an interactive development of the five villages provides both a path and a goal for rural vitalization. Further, it may serve as a sample for how to achieve town-wise, instead of village-wise, rural vitalization.

Produce of the Year: Leafy Green Vegetables

“Stable production, improved quality and increased efficiency” can best describe how Shanghai has realized high-quality development in vegetable production. “We have a total vegetable planting area of 400,000 mu in Shanghai, supplying 3,000 tons of leafy green vegetables on a daily basis, which can well meet the market demands,” a spokesperson of the Committee of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Shanghai said at a news conference on 5th day of the first lunar month of 2020, sending a big relief to the citizens. “Vegetable supply will be guaranteed!” From fighting the outbreak of the pandemic at the beginning of 2020 to fighting the cold wave at the year end, prices of leafy green vegetables, a daily must of the Shanghainese, had remained stable thanks to the great efforts made by many parties. The stable prices strengthened the confidence in guaranteeing stable supplies.

Technology of the Year: One Diagram, One Network and One Database

What digitalization means for agriculture and rural affairs? The emergence and application of big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, 5G and other technologies make it possible to collect agricultural data, trace product safety and carry out precision fertilization. In 2020, Shanghai took the first step in agriculture digitalization and used one diagram, one network and one database to connect producers, consumers and managers together. It also launched the “1+N+X” cloud-based digital agriculture platform and prepared data standards to get a whole picture of the status quo of agricultural production across the city and make scientific decisions. This means a promising future for the development of the digitalized agriculture in Shanghai.

Village of the Year: Lianyi Village

“Suburban people are not only the builders and participants of the village, but also the beneficiaries and sharers of it,” said Li Qiang, Secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, during a survey visit to Lianyi Village on July 24.

The newly built first-phase residential compound for farmers realized a contracting rate of 100%; with white walls and dark tiles, the newly built houses have both front and rear courtyards surrounded by farmlands; the residential compound introduced a standardized and intelligentized property management mechanism...the livable environment in Lianyi Village creates a big draw for others, where the competitiveness of rural areas will be fully demonstrated. More importantly, as a demonstration village of the direct cooperation with state-owned enterprises with municipal functions, the Lianyi Village will inject new impetus into rural revitalization in terms of land arrangement and house renewal.

Brand of the Year: Songlin

In 2020, Shanghai’s hog farming industry made a landmark breakthrough with 8 products under the brand Songlin weighing 1,400 tons certified as green food. As a rice brand, winning prizes has become a constant thing for Songlin; as a pork brand, this is the first prize for it and for the whole hog farming industry of Shanghai. Songlin explored a new way to build a brand of local produce for the locals by integrating crop farming and hog farming, laying out across the industrial chain, promoting green standards across the production process, and implementing complete safety and efficiency management. If branding is an important indicator for measuring the quality and development level of agriculture, Songlin represents the epitome of the market power of Shanghai’s agricultural brands.

Guesthouse of the Year: Su Yu

How does it feel like living in a five-star village guesthouse? The poetic Su Yu is the best answer. At Su Yu, you can enjoy baking, pottery-making and enameling; you can also have a journey of tastes with the “twelve courses of Su Yu delicacy”; water sports and fruit & vegetable picking can also provide you with great pleasure. As one of the first characteristic guesthouse pilots in Shanghai, Su Yu has maintained its original energy after years of development. Under the magnetic power of Su Yu, Lianmin Village, where Su Yu locates, has been labeled as “Guesthouse Village”. Su Yu also gains great benefits from the development of the village to further diversify itself. Su Yu may provide an answer to how the primary, secondary and tertiary industries can integrate to promote rural prosperity.

Delicacy of the Year: Rice Pudding

Rice pudding carries the deep memories of the Shanghainese for their hometown. Having great variants in different districts of Shanghai, rice pudding enjoys an unrivaled position in the heart of the rural Shanghainese. Rice pudding, pronounced as “Mi Gao” in Chinese, denotes expectations for improvement, so eating rice pudding during festivals has been a tradition since ancient times, which is well preserved in the rural areas of Shanghai. Rice pudding is made from rice mixed with glutinous rice, refined sugar and other ingredients. A bite of boiled rice pudding, as the soft and fragrant taste lingers on, can bring up the deepest memories of the eaters!

Creativity of the Year: Bright Dairy Flavored Yogurt in Rainbow-Colored Bottles

During the pandemic, Bright Dairy, a time-honored brand of Shanghai, continued its efforts to produce creative products. From White Rabbit Ice Cream to White Rabbit Candy-Flavored Milk, and from Ubest Ice Cream to +CBP Milk, Bright Dairy rolled out new products one after another in 2020. Particularly, its flavored yogurt in rainbow-colored bottles recorded sales of over 10,000 bottles, becoming a “star product”. Last September, Bright Dairy launched the flavored yogurt in rainbow-colored bottles at the event celebrating the Chinese Farmers’ Harvest Festival. With rich yogurt and fresh fruits, this product provides a refreshing taste to consumers, representing efforts by Bright Dairy to meet the people’s needs for a better life.

Aerial Photography of the Year: Shuangxiang Village

After my drone flew for 3 minutes and 45 seconds, I saw what a water town should be like, that is, Shuangxiang Village. White walls and dark tiles, clear water and green banks, and well-proportioned buildings, all these elements present a perfect landscape of water towns. People who have been long away from a village like this will for sure want to stroll along the water and find back their memories about their hometown. Shuangxiang, a village built on the water, always cures the nostalgia of its people with its picturesque scenery.