The 21st China (Shouguang) International Vegetable Sci-Tech Fair and the 2020 China International Vegetable Seed Industry Expo opened on April 20 in Shouguang, a well-known production base for vegetables in East China's Shandong.

The annual event has moved online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the organizing committee, online displays and livestream broadcasts are available, allowing visitors to attend the event from the comfort of their own home. They can even tour the huge vegetable garden via their cellphones or laptops through the application of 5G, VR and 3D technologies.

The main exhibition area of this year's vegetable fair covers 450,000 square meters, with more than 2,000 kinds of vegetable and over 80 planting methods on display.

The vegetable seed expo, on the other hand, is underway in the new material solar greenhouses covering 270,000 square meters, displaying more than 4,280 varieties of tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucumber and other crops.

Shouguang has been praised as China's largest vegetable production base since more farmers began engaging in the 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 per 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.

Relying on the solid foundation of vegetable industry and advantages in agricultural science and technology, the vegetable sci-tech fair has been held every year since 2000.

A live streamer hosts an online show about the China (Shouguang) International Vegetable Sci-Tech Fair on April 20 in Shouguang, Shandong province. [Photo by Guo Xulei/Xinhua]

Reporters host live stream shows about the annual vegetable sci-tech fair in Shouguang, Shandong province. [Photo by Guo Xulei/Xinhua]

A live streamer introduces new vegetables during a live stream show at the China (Shouguang) International Vegetable Sci-Tech Fair. [Photo by Guo Xulei/Xinhua]

Various vegetables and planting methods are displayed at the annual vegetable sci-tech fair in Shouguang, Shandong province. [Photo by Guo Xulei/Xinhua]

Visitors can tour the exhibition halls online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. [Photo by Guo Xulei/Xinhua]