From pond to table: Inside Honghu city's lotus root industry

At 2 am, Zhang Shaoping, wearing a headlamp and heavy waterproof rubber clothing, wades through a lotus pond in Honghu city, Central China's Hubei province.

A high-pressure water hose helps wash away the mud, but he has to make sure it doesn't break the lotus roots.

Following the lotus stalks, Zhang clears the surrounding silt, bends low over the water and pulls out a section of lotus root.

Digging lotus roots requires not only physical strength, but also skill, he said.

Zhang, a lotus root digger from a nearby city, has been doing the job for five years.

The harvest season begins every August, where he spends seven to eight hours a day working in the ponds.

He can harvest nearly 400 kilograms a day and earn about 700 yuan ($104). Last year, he made 70,000 yuan during the four-month harvesting season.

Zhou Hao, deputy director of the Honghu Lotus Root Industry Development Center, said the lotus root industry provides work throughout the year.

In March, workers harvest lotus root shoots; in July, they pick lotus seed pods; and in August, they begin digging lotus roots, Zhou said.

The industrial chain operates year-round and directly creates jobs for 100,000 people, he said.

Lotus roots dug from lotus ponds are not only served on dining tables as popular Hubei dishes such as pork rib and lotus root soup and stir-fried lotus root slices, but are also processed into various food products and sold across China.

Yuan Jun, deputy general manager of a local company specializing in lotus-derived food products, said fresh lotus roots and fresh lotus sprouts have short shelf lives.

If sales relied only on fresh products, market fluctuations would affect growers' incomes, Yuan said.

Local companies are extending product shelf lives through deep processing and developing different products to turn the seasonal agricultural product into a commodity that can be sold year-round, he added.

Honghu lotus root has become one of Hubei's signature agricultural products. In 2025, the city planted 225,000 mu (15,000 hectares) of lotus roots, with annual output reaching 320,000 metric tons, according to local statistics. The industry's total output value exceeded 12 billion yuan.