Shanghai Daily News

Nanhui District is famous for its agricultural products and its beautiful harbor. While its annual peach festival is a magnet for city dwellers, the southeastern district's livestock breeding industry is also worth a look.

To take advantage of its farming heritage, Nanhui has some interesting attractions such as a pig-themed museum. While Westerners tend to be partial to beef, pork is usually top in the diet of most Chinese. The pig museum opened its doors in Shuyuan Country in June, making it the second of its kind in China. Along with the Shuyuanrenjia Vacation Village, a leisure and entertainment area besides the museum, Nanhui also offers the opportunity to experience rural life firsthand. Here are a few places to check out.

Dishui Lake

China's biggest man-made lake was unveiled in 2003. With a nice view of its tranquil surface, the lake measures 5.56 kilometers in length with a volume of 16.2 million cubic meters.

The district government plans to construct an amusement park and large-scale residential areas there. Currently, tourists can visit a newly-built marine exhibition center. The lake is a very popular attraction for city-dwelling day-trippers on weekends and holidays.

Address: Lingang Newly State

Price: Free

Farmyard banquet

This farmyard outside the exhibition hall grows peanuts, tomatoes and eggplant. It also features an orchard of orange trees. Chefs here will cook up a original meal of fresh vegetables and carnivorous specialities in chicken and pork directly from the farm.

The decorations here follow the ancient Chinese rural style and a hearty meal for three or four people can be enjoyed for about 120 yuan (US$15). Beautiful names such as "Family Reunion" adorn each dish.

Tourists can also get into the farm to pick their own vegetables. They are then washed and sent straight to the kitchen for cooking. If that is not enough, they can also choose to cook for themselves with the ancient kitchen equipment.

Address: Shuyuanrenjia Vacation Village

Pig Culture Exhibition Hall

Constructed in the style of an ancient quadrangle, this exhibition highlights the earliest human activities in hunting and breeding pigs. It also shows how the Chinese developed a culture related to it and the hieroglyphic characters related to pigs. By example, the Chinese symbol for "family" contains a character for pig. In the past, the animal would have been very much a part of the lives of rural Chinese farming families.

Other exhibits also show the humane methods used to kill the animals in Europe and an ideal habitat for modern pig breeding.

Address: Shuyuanrenjia Vacation Village

Price: Free

Multimedia display hall

At this modern multimedia center 12 kilometers from Xiangxin Pig Farm, a major pig breeding center, live video displays the entire process from the animal's birth to death.

Through camera equipment set up in the factory, visitors can watch the pig's birth, the nursery section and the bed section, among others. Advanced technologies in modern poultry breeding are also introduced, such as the loop water-heating system, the mechanical feeding system and the artificial fertilization room.

A 20-minute cartoon film, "The happy life of Piggy Xinxin," explains the whole breeding process in a fun manner that is easy for all to understand.

Address: Shuyuanrenjia Vacation Village

Price: Free

Other entertainment

Water mills are an ancient Chinese way of moving river water into farmland trenches. Nowadays, few mills exist in the country's villages. Modern Chinese often need instruction on how to work such equipment. To work a water mill is a happy experience much like the facilities found at a carnival.

The staff at the Shuyuanrenjia Vacation Village live on the premises full time and many use their spare time to fish in the nearby pools. With the long travel distance to downtown, someone is always likely to be fishing and visitors are welcome to join in on this popular pastime.

Getting there:

Take the A2 or A30 Highway eastbound to Dongda Road. Turn south at Lianggang Road to Lingang Road. The Shuyuanrenjia Vacation Village is located in a modern agricultural base. It is 21 kilometers from Pudong International Airport.