The delicate job of picking water shield leaves

Farmers harvesting water shield leaves at a pond in Hangzhou City, east China, on Saturday. The arduous work requires pickers of the plant to lie on a boat with a cushion under their chests for over 12 hours a day.

As young people prefer less physically demanding jobs, most of the pickers are older women, ranging in age from 50 to 70. They sell the edible leaves to local restaurants at the price of 20 yuan (about 3 US dollars) per kilogram.

As an aquatic plant, water shield is fond of warmth and apt to grow in port areas under clean and calm water conditions which Hangzhou’s West Lake region meets perfectly.

The tender leaves and stems can be cooked into a delicious, nutritionally rich soup. West Lake Water Shield Soup is a traditional Hangzhou delicacy with ingredients of green water shield leaves, ham and chicken.