How long is the Long March along the green vegetable gardens on the outskirts of Beijing?

Zhao Yuzhong is a well-known figure in the vegetable sector on the outskirts of Beijing. Thanks to a green vegetable garden, he has been covered by major media outlets one after another, and even the Minister of Agriculture came to visit his garden.

Anyone who knows him well knows that Old Zhao is a "stubborn" man. Especially on the road of organic farming, which is enticing yet full of setbacks and persistence through repeated attempts, he has striven tirelessly for 10 years. Old Zhao jokes that this organic road is the "Long March" through a green vegetable garden; though treacherous, as long as you face it bravely and persevere, the clouds will always part to reveal the moon.

Indeed, last year this small vegetable garden earned more than 18 million yuan from selling vegetables, keeping more than 300 farming households busier and busier, and happier the busier they got.

The reporter has known Zhao Yuzhong for a long time, but interviewing him is far from easy. All because of his constantly ringing phone, which makes it impossible to get through even one complete sentence. At this, Old Zhao keeps saying sorry, yet the wrinkles on his face squeeze together with laughter.

"These days there are so many calls, mostly ordering vegetables or booking visits, unlike before, when I'd spend all day clutching the phone, begging people everywhere to find sales channels." Taking this cue, Old Zhao's thoughts drifted back to the early days of starting out. In the 1980s, the Chinese cabbage of Xiaofengying Village in Yanqing was famous far and wide. Almost every household in the village grew vegetables. At harvest time, the men drove carts through the streets and lanes, and the vegetables were snapped up in no time. Yet this good fortune did not continue.

In 2007, 298 vegetable farmers in Xiaofengying Village jointly established the Lücaiyuan Vegetable Planting Professional Cooperative. Zhao, originally the manager of an eyeglasses factory, was elected chairman of the cooperative because of his business acumen.

After taking office, Zhao Yuzhong discovered that the members lacked understanding of the market and grew too narrow a range of varieties. "If we're going to grow, we grow high-end vegetables!" Having weathered more than a decade of market storms, Zhao Yuzhong conducted market research, looked up information online, and set the cooperative's future direction: building more than 200 greenhouses to grow organic vegetables. "Although organic vegetables have extremely strict growing standards and yields are lower than ordinary vegetables, their selling price is more than 10 times higher than ordinary vegetables." Zhao Yuzhong believes that as living standards rise, people pay more and more attention to healthy eating, so organic vegetables are bound to have great prospects.

Yet the bountiful organic vegetables did not bring back thick wads of cash for everyone. Lücaiyuan has 99 varieties of organically certified vegetables, with an annual output of 1 million kg. But when organic certification was first obtained in 2009, 90% of the base's organic vegetables were sold cheaply at the field edge as ordinary vegetables. At the worst point, the base produced more than 3,000 kg of organic tomatoes a day, and nearly 700 to 800 kg had to be dumped almost every day; the cooperative did not even have money to buy fertilizer.

Old Zhao simply refused to believe in bad luck. To open up sales channels and let more consumers know about organic vegetables, they often held events in communities, exhibited and sold organic vegetables, and introduced consumers to the growing process of organic vegetables. They also opened multiple channels such as online stores, community vegetable cabinets and community vegetable stands. They tried to break away from peddlers and find sales channels themselves. After several years, the market for organic vegetables gradually opened up. In 2012, Lücaiyuan became one of the first batch of national-level demonstration cooperatives. Annual sales revenue also climbed steadily, from losing money just to make a name to more than 18 million yuan in annual revenue.

Old Zhao's "Long March" did not stop there. Right now, he is studying natural enemy insect technology, planning to let these "heavenly troops and generals" guard the vegetable garden, so the park can save even on biological pesticides. Another major task is to raise the level of mechanization in the facilities. He said: "Farmers work too hard growing vegetables. We must reduce labor intensity and make farming a respectable profession."