A rice-fish farming experimental field in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

Zhoushan in Zhejiang province has been actively exploring "Rice Plus" symbiotic planting and raising modes in recent years. 

In 2023, Diashan county in Zhoushan pioneered the "Rice-Fish Farming" experimental field, utilizing 60 mu (4 hectares) of farmland to implement two modes: rice-crab and rice-shrimp. This involved coordinating the timing of crab and crayfish stocking based on the rice planting schedule, with a stocking density set at 120 crabs per mu and 8 kilograms of crayfish per mu. 

The survival rate exceeds 70 percent. 

Efforts are also underway to transform salt fields into arable land, intelligent greenhouses, plant factories, and automated vegetable seedling factories are steadily progressing. 

The implementation of "Golden melon + Selenium-rich Rice" crop rotation resulted in a significant increase in the yield of golden melons to 1,250 kilograms per mu and of rice to 330 kilograms per mu last year, leading to a 10 percent increase in land productivity. 

Zhoushan has also been dedicated to enhancing the modernization of agricultural facilities since last year, with 911.5 mu of vegetable facilities built and a 1,244-mu vegetable base added, resulting in a 45 percent increase in the vegetable self-sufficiency rate.

Authorities are striving to achieve a total area of 5,000 mu for vegetable planting facilities by 2025, with a vegetable self-sufficiency rate surpassing 50 percent.