Farming hits the high life

Rooftop cultivation sees residents harvest a new and green-based way of urban dwelling, Yang Feiyue reports.

It's space utilization that will harvest a new crop of ideas about urban living. In the concrete jungle, a patch of bountiful greenery seems almost contradictory. Yet, residents in a youth apartment building in downtown Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, have planted the seed from which a new approach to city living is growing, cultivating a unique lifestyle.

They can till their own land, which can be accessed just an elevator ride away to the top of their building. There they can grow vegetables, while socializing with other tenants and taking in the skyline of the city.

Huang Suyun has seen positive changes in her own life since "farming" and other social activities were introduced to the rooftop of the youth apartment building she has managed for the past three years.

The 32-year-old, originally from a small town, gladly provides a sample of the farm produce she has nurtured with her own hands over the past three months. This includes green beans, cucumbers, chilis and eggplants.

"It's very nice to get a change of scenery occasionally by caring for my own plants and chilling out on the rooftop," Huang says.

The harvest then brings a second wave of intense satisfaction.