The smart farm built last May in Kuqa of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region with funding from Ningbo, Zhejiang province of East China, uses hydroponics and automated climate control to grow leafy greens and strawberries unaffected by the dry, dusty surroundings of the Taklimakan Desert, the world's second-largest shifting sand desert.
The indoor farm of nearly 7,000 square meters is part of China's push to modernize rural economies through tech-aided agriculture with Xinjiang, where deserts cover 25 percent of the land as a key testing ground.
Inside the plant factory, rows of spinach, lettuce and ruby-red strawberries thrive under glass, their roots bathed in nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Sensors adjust temperature, humidity and irrigation automatically, while workers monitor data dashboards — a far cry from traditional farming in this snow-melt-dependent region.
At another agricultural demonstration zone in northern Xinjiang's Changji Hui autonomous prefecture, leafy vegetables like amaranth are planted in 10-layer vertical racks that can rotate 360 degrees, ensuring crops absorb sunlight evenly and efficiently increasing the utilization of space. For climbing plants such as tomatoes, vines sprawling as long as 13 meters are hung over a rope beneath the glasshouse ceiling and roots are immersed in nutrient solutions, maximizing their exposure to sunlight and fertilizer.
Read more at China Daily