Brand Building

"In the past, science and technology parks were funded exclusively by government. Nowadays we are exploring new sources of funding, mostly public-private partnerships. Our goal is to create a model park for the capital or even the whole country," says Li Wenzhou, who, as deputy chief of Lucheng Town, is in charge of local agriculture.

"Currently, we are in the process of creating a unique brand." In 2011, Tongzhou district government organized the first Tongzhou International Agricultural Science and Technology Festival. "Although we didn't do a lot of publicity, to our surprise about 400 agriculture professionals, including agricultural counselors from foreign embassies, attended the opening ceremony. We now plan to hold the festival annually," Li says.

"This year we are waiting for the unveiling of some fantastic new technologies. The market is strong, and growers are looking to take advantage of that."

Investment interest in the Tongzhou park is also steeping up, he notes. "Since last year, an increasing number of companies have been plowing investments into the park. A domestic company has invested RMB 20 million, and at present we are negotiating with one French company and one Dutch company about possible future investments," Zhang says. "Our park has become a true hub and a great platform for the mixing of new ideas, technologies and dreams. We are right at the cutting edge – China Agricultural University even plans to exhibit some of their very latest research projects at the park."

Jia Xiaoming, board chairman of Zhongyinghe International Consulting Company, has visited the Tongzhou technology park several times, and is responsible for one of its most exciting up-and-coming projects.

"Our partners own a technology that uses glacier water in seed breeding. They have found that mineral water obtained from altitudes of 4,000 meters and above significantly raises yields in wheat cultivation and, remarkably, also renders crops more resistant to pests. After many experiments at the Ministry of Agriculture, we successfully obtained a national patent," says Jia, who plans to invest RMB 10 million in the park to build a seedling cultivation center.

Zhang Tianzhu has some star projects of his own. He spent three years designing and developing, and now owns the patent on a "revolving greenhouse." It is now at the experimental model stage.

According to his design, the greenhouse is large – 39 meters high, and boasts nine stories. The first floor will actually be a restaurant, and the space above it will be a growing area divided into several platforms. To satisfy the lighting requirements of plants, each growing platform will rotate slowly to receive the maximum amount of sunlight.

The greenhouse is a pollution-free project. Aside from only using various green sources of power, such as wind and solar energy and methane, all the waste produced from the greenhouse will be completely recyclable. Even the restaurant's trash will be broken down into fertilizer for plants.

"The greenhouse will contain many of the latest scientific research achievements in agriculture, such as changeable ventilation, sunlight monitoring, temperature control and carbon dioxide supplementing. All these aspects mean construction will be a big task," Zhang says. "But we are building for the future of metropolitan agricultural development."

The revolving greenhouse concept not only provides high agricultural output and solves problems of food safety, but also doubles as a beautiful space that attracts nature lovers. "Agricultural tourism" has been catching on of late in many countries around the world.

Li Wenzhou is excited about Zhang's revolving greenhouse project. "If he finds himself short of funds, our local government can offer help. We hope his greenhouse will become a landmark symbol for our park."

Zhang is already thinking beyond greenhouses to different urban spaces where agriculture can be developed. "There are many unused areas in cities, such as basements, discarded factories, and even roofs and balconies. These could all be transformed into productive agricultural workspaces." Zhang and his team will make a trip to Norway and the Netherlands to immerse themselves in local agricultural mechanization techniques. Down the line he hopes to introduce technologies from those countries to the Tongzhou park. "Science and technology is the way forward to higher yields and bumper profits in agriculture," says Zhang. The future of China's agricultural development seems to be in safe hands.