In a strawberry greenhouse in Conghua district of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, neatly lined shelves of strawberries are ready for pickup. 

Here, in Youqianhui cooperative, the strawberries are grown in coir instead of soil. The establishment of the cooperative has helped individual growers work collectively and expand their business via cooperation and technology enhancement. The strawberries this year taste better due to the improved application of organic fertilizers. With support from the cooperative, a new strawberry variety – milk strawberry – was cultivated to boost the growers' market performance.

Elevated planting provides greater growing conditions for the strawberries. The strawberries are planted on approximately 1-meter-high shelves, which provide better lighting and effective temperature and moisture control. Elevated soilless planting is not limited by soil conditions, avoids continuous cropping obstacles, and improves the land utilization rate.

For tourists, it is much easier to pick strawberries from the shelves than in the soil, and cleaner as well–a big plus for the development of agritourism.

The picking period of the strawberries can last for around four months. Tourists pay 60 yuan ($9.42) per kilogram for picking strawberries. The strawberries are mainly sold on picking tours and self-driving tours.