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Q: Is gardening that popular in China?
I saw a few balcony gardens and such, but never saw a garden supply store or anything. Have you seen much in the way of gardening as a hobby?
Outside of the typical few potted plants people might keep in their apartment, I've never witnessed any recreational gardening....
For what it's worth, where I'm from in the US has a large expat Chinese community (it's a university town), and a large number of them grow things on small plots in the university's community garden.
It's probably a matter of space here more than anything.
Most people in cities live in apartment blocks and may keep a few plants on the balcony. In second tier cities, the apartment blocks usually have plots of land attached where people may grow a few edible plants and a few flowers. In the countryside, most people rely on the land around their houses for survival and may grow maize, root vegetables and keep animals such as chickens and pigs. Rarely do you find Chinese that keep gardens for ornamental purposes (other than elite personage that might have landscaping, fish ponds and covered pagodas).
In Nanning every space big enough to hold a garden that isn't park land etc is being used to grow vegetables, mostly along the river banks and waterways, but there are even two small vegetable patches on grounds in our apartment complex. I suppose with all these people and a limited amount of farmable land it's become a habit.
Most people here who live in apartments (the vast majority) have plants of some kind on the balconies.
when Moa took over he split the farm land into small holdings and gave it to the peasants. These plots were so small that they could just about support the family that owned it. This land was mostly cultivated by hand with a shovel. 12 years ago I made a train trip from Nanning to Beijing. ,in some areas the land had been tilled with a shovel as fare as the eye could see. Just about every little bit of land is cultivated. If the farmer could afford it he would use a water buffalo to till the land. I never saw a tractorr in China. But things will change and are. Franck3
I haven't where I am living. However, I know that the city does plant flowers to make their city look as beautiful as it can.
