A group of more than 20 press officials and journalists from Asian and European countries paid a visit to the Vegetable High-tech Demonstration Park in Shouguang, Shandong province on July 3.

Shouguang has been praised as China's largest vegetable production base since more farmers began joining greenhouse vegetable growing business in the 1990s.

The city has more than 40,000 hectares of greenhouses and trades around 8 million tons of vegetables a year. It provides Beijing with one-third of the vegetables sold in local markets.

Shouguang has been cited as a modern agricultural demonstration zone and has provided integrated vegetable growing solutions to more than 20 provincial-level regions.

Built in 1999, Shouguang Vegetable High-tech Demonstration Park, covering a total area of 450,000 square meters, includes 165,000 square meters of indoor space with 12 exhibition halls.

The park emphasizes the development of biological engineering, standardized production, processing and marketing of vegetables, scientific research and technical training, exhibition information exchange, and agricultural tourism, among other things.

The park has received many accolades. It has been rated as a pilot national-level agricultural science park, the Shandong provincial vegetable engineering technology research center, and a national AAAA scenic spot.

The event was part of the "Tell Shandong stories to the world – Eurasian press officials and journalists' tour of Shandong", which was jointly organized by the China International Publishing Group and the information office of the Shandong provincial government.

The foreign media group will visit the cities of Jinan, Zibo, Weifang and Qingdao over the course of six days to get a better understanding of the province's long history, rich culture, and unique customs, as well as to find out how Shandong has become a competitive powerhouse in the new era.

A foreign journalist reaches for a gourd at the Shouguang Vegetable High-tech Demonstration Park in Shandong province on July 3. [Photo by Zhang Renyu/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A foreign journalist struggles to lift a giant pumpkin at the Shouguang Vegetable High-tech Demonstration Park in Shouguang, Shandong province on July 3. [Photo by Zhang Renyu/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Press officials and journalists from Asian and European countries pose for group photo during their tirp to Shouguang, Shandong province on July 3. [Photo by Zhang Renyu/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Foreign journalists exchange ideas with their tour guide while exploring the Shouguang Vegetable High-tech Demonstration Park on July 3. [Photo/sdchina.com]

A tour guide introduces the development status and management model of the Shouguang Vegetable High-tech Demonstration Park to foreign journalists on July 3. [Photo/sdchina.com]