There is a new 'plant factory' in the North of China. This vertical farm grows without daylight, using artificial lighting instead, and uses nutrient solutions instead of soil to raise the plants. The climate conditions in the 'factory' are adjusted automatically based on what the plants need.
The farm is a big one: the entire construction is 35.000 m2, of which 3.500 m2 is used for vegetable seedlings, 2.500 m2 functions as vegetable production area, and 3.000 m2 is dedicated to Chinese medicinal herbs. In fact, this project is the only large-scale indoor farm in North China and is only one of four large-scale 'plant factories' in China.
The 'plant factory' can raise more than 600.000 seedlings per batch. This is an impressive number, especially when you realize the farm produces 12 batches, and thus 64 million seedlings, per year.
Read the complete article (in Chinese) and see the pictures at www.163.com.