A moment in time: Winter vegetables

Beijingers have a tradition of buying and hoarding Chinese cabbage in the winter. The custom arose because Chinese cabbage used to be one of the few vegetables available in North China during the cold months, and it is cheap and easy to store. Taken in 1985, customers in downtown Beijing rush to buy cabbage from traders with tricycles laden with the crop, a sight that is rare now. Taken in 2012, shows a range of vegetables on display, a selection as varied and abundant as would be found in the summer. The change is the result of improvements to the road network that have made transporting produce around the country much easier, and the increasing use of greenhouses that enable farmers to grow many kinds of vegetables even in freezing weather.

Beijingers have a tradition of buying and hoarding Chinese cabbage in the winter. The custom arose because Chinese cabbage used to be one of the few vegetables available in North China during the cold months, and it is cheap and easy to store. Taken in 1985, customers in downtown Beijing rush to buy cabbage from traders with tricycles laden with the crop, a sight that is rare now. Taken in 2012, shows a range of vegetables on display, a selection as varied and abundant as would be found in the summer. The change is the result of improvements to the road network that have made transporting produce around the country much easier, and the increasing use of greenhouses that enable farmers to grow many kinds of vegetables even in freezing weather.