In recent years, Longwan district – one of the four urban districts of Wenzhou city in East China's Zhejiang province – has been on the up and up. It's now firmly on the road to modern rural reconstruction and has seen the introduction of the Big Garden project – a long-term plan drafted by the Zhejiang Development and Reform Commission in 2019 that aims to transform Zhejiang into a "big garden".

Wuxi village in Yongxing sub-district is the largest production area of grain and vegetables in Longwan. [Photo by Zhang Hua/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Dodging a tractor, egrets forage in a paddy field, showing the harmonious balance between man and birds. [Photo by Jiang Xiangfa/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Bumper crops galore: under a fierce blue sky, farmers harvest the rice. [Photo by Zhang Hua/for chinadaily.com.cn]

The joy of the harvest: an adorable baby gets to the pickings. [Photo by Ye Yanling/for chinadaily.com.cn]