Jesse Long, a 62-year-old American farmer who has been growing vegetable in China for 13 years, usually says "no" to any interviews of journalists.

Moreover, he hardly accepts requests for "visits" to or all sorts of "appraisals" at his horticultural farm, which are quite common in China. The agricultural authority at the township where his farm is located has offered to grant the title of "modern agricultural demonstration base" to Long's farm, but he declined gently.

Why?

Jesse Long said the reason is quite simple. He described vegetable cultivation in Shanghai, in eastern China, as his "experiment", and his "enjoyment" and "business" as well. "My dream of running a farm" in China has come true," he said, and he "enjoys a peaceful life and delight in work" in Shanghai.

Since the horticultural farm was built in 1992, Jesse Long has moved it for three times to keep pace with the economic and social development in Shanghai, an economic powerhouse in eastern China.

The Pudong New Area in Shanghai has emerged from a tract of farmland into one of the most dynamic regions in China. Nevertheless, the municipal government has pledged to boost modern agriculture, which is characterized by environmental protection and recreation.

For this purpose, the municipal government designated the farming area where Jesse Long's horticultural farm is located as the region for permanent farming purpose.

Lou Youqin, an official in charge of vegetable cultivation with Shanghai's agriculture authorities, said there is a great potential for vegetable growing in Shanghai.

"It's a good way that foreign farmers grow vegetable for hotels catering to foreign visitors in Shanghai," said Lou Youqin, who has got along with Jesse Long for years.

The Chinese hardly know clearly about what are the real tastes of foreigners and what they really love for dinners, Lou added.

Among hundreds of vegetables in Jesse Long's farm, lettuce is a kind of favorable species for foreigners. Long's wife, Tang Biyun, said, "Westerners are fond of lettuce, the Chinese will never know all about it."

"In the eyes of Chinese, lettuce is only a type of vegetable, yet in the eyes of westerners, it is a big variety," Tang said, adding, "Though I have lived with an American for so many years, I still failed to have a thorough understanding of lettuce."

As Jesse Long has cultivated "lettuce" by western standard in Shanghai, all the 300-400 tons of vegetable on his farm are ordered by high-end hotels across China every year for cooking western-style food.

As well known as his vegetables was the eccentricity of Jesse Long in the eye of local residents.

Thirteen years ago when he began building a horticultural farm in Shanghai. Jessen Long did tests on soil and used a balance to scale fertilizer.

Another weird aspect of Jesson Long was that he considers his horticultural farm as a "secret garden" and rejected any visits. He said the farm was just like an enterprise, which should have its own business secret. This was a bit strange to many natives.

After 13-year contact, Long is understandable by his neighbors. And the municipal government of Shanghai also conducts land tests and surveys, so as to get rid of land that is proven to be polluted and unsuitable for farming.

Meanwhile, local consumers are now fully aware of such concepts as "green food". Many new vegetable and fruit varieties have been put under protection of an IPR (intelligent property right) system.

Now Jesse Long seemed not to be weird any more in the eyes of local residents. An agricultural demonstration base has been established beside his farm. Horticulturists at the base often exchange views with Long in vegetable growing.

Of the 40-odd staffs at Jesse Long's farm, two or three people have worked with him for 13 years. They deem sincerity and devotion as the principle virtues of the Americans. As a manager, Long always works together with farmers at the farm.

Apart from the Christmas holiday season, Jesse Long spends 10 months on his farm in Shanghai every year. He enjoys playing trombone and chatting with his friends.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)