At 8 a.m., Qin Peng puts on a white coat and stands in front of a machine that blows dust off of him, preparing to start work.
Qin, 45, said the dust on the human body may contain pest eggs, so it has to be blown off.
Qin is a vegetable planter. Instead of toiling in fields, he works in a "plant factory" in the southeastern suburb of Beijing, where eight types of vegetables including lettuce and spinach are growing on planting beds.
The factory, with an area of over 10,000 square meters, is a project of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com.
Last December, the company's fresh food brand JD Fresh partnered with Japanese chemical manufacturing giant Mitsubishi Chemical to open the factory featuring Japanese hydroponic technology.
With rising incomes and a growing demand for a better life, an increasing number of Chinese consumers are willing to spend more on high-quality food that is nutritious and free of pesticides.
Besides the hydroponic plant factory in Beijing, similar soilless cultivation projects are seen in Shenzhen, Suzhou, Dalian, Changchun and other cities across the country.