From first dates to family trips, foraging is turning into a favorite low-cost way for young Chinese and old alike to connect offline.
Every spring, 57-year-old Gu Hongxia goes foraging in her neighborhood, part of Shanghai’s suburban Baoshan District, where wild scallions, mushrooms, and other edible plants grow in abundance.
This March, encouraged by her daughter, Gu decided for the first time to post a picture story about her annual ritual and bountiful harvests on the Chinese lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu, or RedNote. To her surprise, the post attracted more than 13,000 views in just two weeks.
“Most of the viewers are in their 20s and 30s,” she said, adding that she received many comments admiring her for her ability to identify edible wild plants such as fish mint, Indian aster, and shepherd’s purse, while some viewers even asked to join her on foraging trips. “It’s amazing. I never expected so many young people would want to interact with me.”
In recent months, Xiaohongshu users have shared more than 30,000 posts related to the topic “digging wild vegetables in Shanghai,” swapping tips on the best foraging spots and how to recognize different plants, as well as recipe ideas.
With blossoms in bloom, warmer temperatures, and edible plants sprouting in urban spaces, digging for wild greens, as well as other popular outdoor pursuits like cycling, camping, and hiking, are helping citizens reconnect with nature — and each other.
Gu Hongxia’s social posts about wild plants. From Gu’s Xiaohongshu
Xiaohongshu saw 130 million posts related to outdoor lifestyles in 2023, a 270% increase year on year, attracting a total of 622.5 billion views, up by 570% from 2022.
Spotting the surge in wannabe foragers, Chai Mi Duo, a Shanghai-based dining and lifestyle brand that operates organic farms in Suzhou, in the eastern Jiangsu province, and Dali, in the southwestern Yunnan province, has been hosting wild vegetable-picking events as part of its monthly series of outdoor, agriculture-themed experiences.
The company said its Suzhou event, in which local residents guide participants in identifying and cooking edible wild plants, received significantly more attention this year than in 2024 — likes on its promotional social media post increased tenfold, and the number of sign-ups doubled.
People aged 25 to 35 accounted for about 60% to 70% of the participants this year, said Kong Wenli, a brand director at Chai Mi Duo. Most were in pairs, either friends or couples, and the rest were families with children. “We also had two young women who brought their mothers along,” she told Sixth Tone.
As a child, picking vegetables was simply part of everyday life for Tao Xiaomi. Today, the 34-year-old financial analyst says it is a way to relax and rebalance. This spring, she took her 5-year-old twin boys and elderly parents to forage in the green spaces across Shanghai.
“This year the wild vegetable craze feels stronger than ever. More of my friends and colleagues are talking about it,” Tao said. “Foraging is an activity enjoyed by all ages. After we take the vegetables home, my parents prepare them, bringing the harvest to the table — it gives the whole experience a sense of ceremony. And for kids, it’s a way to broaden their knowledge and return to something more natural and grounded.”
Tao’s twin boys and her parents forage for wild vegetables, Shanghai, March 30, 2025. Courtesy of Tao
As picking wild vegetables becomes a new social activity, young people are forming groups and seeking out experienced foragers online for advice. Some experts have even begun offering guided tours, priced at 98 to 198 yuan ($13–27), while social media posts suggest a growing trend in “foraging dates.”
A 29-year-old software engineer surnamed Xu said he started taking his girlfriend, surnamed Jing, on wild vegetable outings in Shanghai in February. The couple learned that growing up in different parts of the country — he was raised in Jiangsu; she’s from the southwestern Guizhou province — their memories of the edible wild plants they ate as children differed considerably.
“I was so excited,” Jing said, after learning about the best spots in the city for foraging. “All I could think about was picking vegetables. I’ve been in Shanghai for six years, since I came here for university, and I often miss my hometown’s mountains and rivers.”
The couple chose a park in Shanghai’s eastern Pudong New Area, about a 30-minute drive from their home. They carried a small trowel, but forgot gloves, and accidentally touched sun spurge, a plant with toxic sap that irritates the skin. On a second trip, they brought home a bag full of what they thought was shepherd’s purse — only to discover later it was an entirely different species.
However, through trial and error, and the use of plant identification apps, they eventually were able to spot and pick the right greens.
“For us, as young people living under pressure in Shanghai, this kind of activity feels like a perfect low-cost stress relief,” Jing said, explaining that she is about to graduate university, while Xu has an intense job at an auto company.
Picking wild vegetables is like a cheap adventure game, she added. “It’s full of surprises. You get to breathe fresh air, find new spots on the map, and in a big city like Shanghai, it feels rare and challenging, which makes it even more fun.”
Gu Hongxia’s social posts on picking fish mint, dandelion, and other wild plants. From Gu’s Xiaohongshu
Since her initial foray into influencing, Gu has learned more about Xiaohongshu and feels she has built a closer relationship with her daughter, who runs her own account on the platform with 5,700 followers.
Gu has learned how to add text to images and write eye-catching headlines, which has led to even more engagement and conversations with young people online.
During China’s annual Tomb-sweeping Day in April, she took her daughter and her daughter’s friends on a camping trip to forage for wild vegetables. She said that, these days, edible wild plants are becoming harder to find — many have already been picked, and the peak growing season has almost passed.
“But next spring, the wild vegetables will sprout again,” she said.
Additional reporting: Wu Yufei; editor: Hao Qibao.
(Header image: Visuals from Shijue/VCG and interviewees, reedited by Sixth Tone)
