Local shopping explorations deliver the goods globally

American-born content creator Adrianna Leigh Rommeswinkel could hardly contain her excitement.

"I've never seen this many onions in one place," she said in fluent Chinese while filming a video at a wholesale market in Dongguan, Guangdong province.

Around her were bags of various vegetables, including eggplants, fennel and asparagus. Blueberries sold for 6 yuan ($0.88) a box, and strawberries were priced at 10 yuan for two packs. The vegetables and fruits were so fresh that shoppers could still smell the soil on some of them.

"This is what real value for money looks like," said Rommeswinkel, known online as Addy. "You don't know how much these would cost in the United States!"

Her video, one of a growing number posted by foreign visitors and expatriates, has become part of a social media trend — tourists flocking to neighborhood farmers' markets.

Across platforms such as Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, TikTok and YouTube, foreign influencers are documenting encounters with unfamiliar vegetables, live seafood, inexpensive fruit and vendors willing to clean, cut and prepare purchases on the spot.

Markets selling leafy greens, ginger, fish and seasonal fruit are a routine part of daily life for Chinese residents. Yet, videos featuring foreigners marveling at white strawberries, dozens of vegetable varieties or freshly harvested produce regularly attract thousands of comments and shares.

In Tianjin, American social media influencer Evan Kail recently posted a video showing himself shopping for ingredients at a local market."As a foreigner, even if you don't speak any Mandarin, it's super easy to come here and get around," he said to his followers.

Kail spent about 50 yuan buying green onions, tomatoes, bananas and a jar of chili bean paste for a home-cooked meal, which he estimated would cost roughly 280 yuan in the US. He was particularly impressed that vendors offered to slice vegetables and prepare ingredients according to customers' needs.

A Danish couple touring a farmers' market in China expressed similar amazement in a video posted online,"So many beautiful food items," one of them said while examining rows of vegetables. "There are so many vegetables we've never seen in Denmark."

Around the world, abundant and affordable fresh produce is far from guaranteed.

Across Northern Europe, long winters and short growing seasons mean consumers rely heavily on imported fresh fruit and vegetables during much of the year.

In South Korea, napa cabbage — a staple ingredient in kimchi — periodically experiences sharp price hikes when extreme weather damages harvests, according to media outlet Korea JoongAng Daily.

China, meanwhile, produced more than 800 million metric tons of vegetables and nearly 360 million tons of fruit in 2025, placing it among the world's largest producers.

Per capita consumption of vegetables and edible fungi rose from 96.9 kilograms in 2014 to 108.6 kg in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Today, supermarkets and traditional markets offer strawberries in winter, tropical fruit in inland cities and vegetables sourced from distant provinces thousands of kilometers away.

Much of the progress can be attributed to the Vegetable Basket program, launched in 1988 to strengthen food supply systems and ensure stable access to essential agricultural products.

Over the decades, authorities have built production bases that support the movement of vegetables from southern regions to northern cities and from western growing areas to eastern consumption centers. The expansion of greenhouse farming has further reduced seasonal constraints.

At the same time, investments in transportation and cold-chain logistics have transformed distribution networks. Produce harvested in one province can now reach consumers in another within a matter of hours.

China currently supplies approximately 1.92 million tons of vegetables and 230,000 tons of meat each day to meet consumer needs, according to the ministry. As food security concerns shift from quantity to quality, policymakers are increasingly focused on eating better rather than simply eating enough.

Earlier this year, the No 1 Central Document, China's annual rural policy blueprint, called for improving the quality and efficiency of the country's vegetable basket industries. China will focus on stronger agricultural technology, improved crop varieties, better logistics and more efficient links between farmers and markets, it said.