BEIJING: At 8 am, on the glistening waters of Erhai Lake, in Yunnan province, harvesting begins on schedule for a prized vegetable growing in popularity among Chinese diners.
By noon, the freshly picked Ottelia acuminata — kept submerged in water to protect their fragile stems — are rushed into cold storage for initial processing.
That same afternoon, the aquatic plants are flown to Shanghai, which is 2,500 kilometers away. By the next morning, still carrying the lake’s moisture, they appear neatly on the “digital shelves” of fresh-grocery e-commerce platform Dingdong Maicai and later in the kitchens of urban consumers.
Behind this tightly choreographed 24-hour race against time to deliver them fresh to consumers’ tables, is three years of preparation. Jiang Lichuan, head of spring produce at Dingdong Maicai, and his team worked relentlessly to make the seemingly impossible viable.
Once considered a local specialty, Ottelia acuminata is now available in multiple big cities across China, mainly through online sales.
Advances in agricultural technology, combined with wider sourcing by e-commerce platforms, are enabling once region-bound and highly perishable seasonal ingredients to traverse mountains and rivers to reach diners across the country.
Private chef Xu Jie, 45, a native of Changzhou, Jiangsu province, has lived in Beijing for over a decade.
Every spring, she hungers for the flavors of her hometown.
On a recent afternoon in her Beijing studio, a clay pot was gently simmering. Inside was a carefully prepared “winter-to-spring rice” — a mix of fresh broad beans, bamboo shoots, morel mushrooms, and leafy greens, paired with fragrant cured pork and Chinese sausage, and garnished with delicate white jasmine blossoms.
Every ingredient in this dish — steeped in memories of Jiangnan, the region to the south of China’s Yangtze River — came from online fresh food platforms.
“When I first arrived in Beijing, the selection of seasonal spring vegetables in local markets was extremely limited,” Xu recalled. “But in recent years, as soon as spring arrives, I can find the full spectrum of hometown produce online.”
She has even discovered regional specialties, such as Liyang water celery and fresh Chinese toon shoots, on e-commerce shelves. “Chives at this time of year carry a unique vitality — a gift that only this season can bring.”
In a single week in early March, JD.com reported that searches for Chinese toon shoots surged 187 percent month-on-month, bamboo shoots rose 152 percent, while broad beans and asparagus increased by 67 percent and 50 percent respectively.
Platforms are also aligning their offerings with China’s “24 solar terms”, creating a digital calendar of seasonal consumption.
On March 20, Spring Equinox, Meituan’s Xiaoxiang Supermarket launched peeled bamboo shoots, fragrant oolong tea, and crisp green jujubes sourced from Fujian province, and live crayfish, merging agricultural seasonal rhythms with instant modern retail. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
