For 10 hours, farmers laboriously reap floating harvest

Photo shows farmers harvesting water shield, a crop that grows on the surface of West Lake in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. The arduous work required pickers to lie on a boat with a rubber cushion under their chests for over 10 hours. Most of the workers were older women, ranging in age from 50 to 70. Young people prefer and have access to less physically demanding jobs, which causes villagers to worry that there will be no work force to harvest the plants in the future. Water shield can sell for over 20 RMB ($2.9) per kilogram. After processing, it will be exported to overseas markets.