It is now our second day of touring in Shanghai, and the jet lag has finally started to wear off. To start the day, we traveled two hours outside of the city to the Water Village, also called Zhu Jia Jiao. Filled with small shops and restaurants, the area is rich with history and old buildings. While there, we all got to take a ride on small gondola boats with locals steering them for us through the canal. In some ways it seemed very similar to San Antonio's River Walk.

For the later part of the morning, we went to a community farm and village to see their farming styles and practices. Ten to twenty farming families all come together with their farm land to create one larger, more profitable farm. Countless produce is grown at this farm, including cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, dragon fruit, mandarin oranges, cabbage, and many other things as well. They also had several types of livestock such as goats, ducks, and chickens. Some of their livestock looked the same as ours does in the United States, but they have some very different breeds of animals compared to us. The farm uses China's version of organic practices at this village, and the government certifies that they are doing it correctly in order to get their 30-50 percent premium for the products. Fish and rice were the other parts of the farm that they gain revenue. 

We also served us a delicious meal with all of the dishes coming directly from their farm, including delicious fresh strawberries! This was our group's first experience with tofu, and overall, the reaction was actually quite positive. 

Corteva Agrisciences (formerly Dow/Pioneer/DuPont) was our afternoon visit of the day. We had the opportunity to listen to the president of Corteva China speak to us about the agriculture industry and how their company fits into it specifically. Additionally, another of their employees, Royce, spoke with us and answered the many questions we had for them. Corteva China's largest business component is in crop protection with pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides. They also sell seed to farmers, but that is a smaller market at this point. Even with that, they are still the leading seed corn company in China. It was fascinating to learn about the differences in crop farming here in China compared to the way it is at home in the United States. The average age of farmers in China is actually similar to that of America, but the average farm size is less than half of a hectare, which is less than a quarter of an acre. At this point, genetically modified crops are not allowed in China, so that changes the product line that Corteva is able to provide here. Sustainability is another "new" concept being implemented more heavily in Chinese agriculture. By utilizing advanced technology and understanding knowledge about farming further, they are able to conserve resources better while producing more. 

Our last stop of the day was to the Pearl Tower in Shanghai. It is 468 meters tall and was built in 1994. While we were up there as a group, we got to walk out onto a glass walkway where you can see through the floor to the ground. Some of us thoroughly enjoyed the rush of it, while others were a little bit more hesitant about trying it! Though everything was great today, this tour of the Pearl Tower was definitely the "wow" moment of the day. The masses of people paired with the height of the tower brought together an accurate representation of what tourism is like in Shanghai. 

Overall, it was a fascinating day, and we truly enjoyed the mix of culture and agriculture that we were able to get with each tour. China is a unique country, and there is so much to learn, but we have only scratched the surface of what we will learn over the course of this entire trip. Today is our last day in Shanghai, and tomorrow we will make the trip to Xian for the next few days. We can't wait to see what the rest of the trip will hold!

 Corteva leader

 

 Dragon fruit

 

 Pearl tower

 

 Planting vegetables

 

 River village

 

 Shanghai

 

View from the heavens



USDA Ag Trade