Chinese man grows rice on roof

Peng Qiugen’s neighbors harvest rice on his 120-square-metre roof paddy Photo: Feature China/Barcroft Media.

A Chinese man has grown rice on the roof of his house because his city lacked the open space he needed

By Charlotte Bailey
The Telegraph
30 Oct 2008

Excerpt:

Peng Qiugen decided to plant rice on the roof of his four storey house in Shaoxing in east China’s Zhejiang province as a novel way to farm in the overcrowded city.

Mr Qiugen planted the rice back in May on his 120-square-metre roof paddy and his crop is now ready to be harvested.

The rice paddy is expected to yield 120kg of rice grains.

Read the complete article here.

Urban Agriculture Hits the Rooftops in China

In previous years he has grown 400kg of watermelon

ByLivingRoofs.org

Excerpt:

In China, every year, more than 15 million people move from the countryside to the cities. Most will eventually find themselves living in an apartment in a multi-storey block. They may be cramped but at least they have a roof over their heads. But most of these new urbanites miss contact with nature and yearn for the days when they could potter in their own garden back in their ancestral village, enjoying fresh food produced through their own effort.

After moving to Yang Xunqiao Town, Shaoxing County in Zhejiang Province, Peng Qiugen found himself in this position. Living in a four storey block in the burgeoning city and with no access to land, he felt that his green fingered days were over. Much of the new housing in China is of a sturdy reinforced concrete construction, and once Mr. Peng had realised that his building had a sturdy flat roof, he made plans for his 120m2 rooftop farm.

Since 2007 he has been growing watermelons and rice on his roof and now neighbours are following suit. His rice harvest has been particularly successful. After planting in May he has been able to harvest more than 120kg of glutinous rice which is destined to be made into (in order of importance) rice wine, rice cake and rice dumpling.

Read the complete article here.