Pinggu sets a template for modern agriculture

Zhao Bo does not fit the usual description of a university lecturer. The 56-year-old associate professor from the Beijing University of Agriculture spends much of his time in the fields of Pinggu district, on the capital's eastern edge, where he looks more like a seasoned farmer than an academic.

Zhao was among the initiators and participants of the 117 "doctor-led farms" launched in the district in 2022, an effort designed to bring scientific expertise directly into rural production.