Sweet strawberries at a greenhouse operated by Liu Ping, a farmer in Rudong county, Nantong, Jiangsu province, have recently attracted residents to experience the joy of picking fruit with their hands.

According to Liu, the first batch of strawberries was expected to come onto the market before the Spring Festival, but only a few strawberries grew well due to the rainy weather and the time to market was thus delayed.

After the Spring Festival, the sale of strawberries was impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. To solve this problem, farmers in local areas promoted the strawberries through WeChat. They integrated online sales and offline delivery to promote their strawberries.

Liu's greenhouse is currently open to the public and local residents can enter it and pick strawberries by themselves. For epidemic prevention and control, only a limited number of people are allowed to enter the greenhouse at one time.

Several measures have also been adopted to protect the residents who come to pick strawberries from cross-infection.

The sale of strawberries will last until the end of April or early May. Liu said he is hoping that the picking activity can help retrieve some of his losses.

Residents and children pick strawberries at a greenhouse in Rudong county, Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/ntfabu.com]