By Kyle Lam & Irene Chan

On a warm, sunny Friday – just four days before the Lunar New Year – Hong Kong farmer Leung Yat-shun was tending to gladioli and lilies at a temporary stall in the Mong Kok flower market.

Freshly harvested from Leung’s farm in San Tin, in the New Territories, the flowers grew from seeds planted by Leung, his wife, and their workers.

This year, Leung faced unprecedented challenges due to extreme weather. The weather leading up to the traditional Chinese festival was unseasonably warm, forcing Leung to set up shades in the stall to prevent the flowers from blooming before the festive season.

Just last month, the weather was the polar opposite. Between January 21 and 23, temperatures in the northern New Territories dropped as low as 7 degrees Celsius. The sudden cold snap threatened to stunt the flowers’ growth.

To ensure the flowers bloomed in time for the Lunar New Year, Leung and his workers piled up wood and burned it along one side of the farm’s perimeter. He described the method as “taking the chill off” the blossoms.

Thanks to the hard work, the gladioli and lilies – popular festive flowers among Hongkongers – had plump, healthy buds.

“Farming is like raising children; it takes lots of care,” Leung, 73, told HKFP in Cantonese.

His eyes were still bloodshot from the long hours he spent harvesting, but he remained cheerful.

“It’s tiring, but I really like farming,” Leung said.

Leung has been farming in San Tin for over 50 years. He named his farm “Shun Sum Yuen,” Cantonese for “growing things from our hearts.”

Born in a village in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, Leung was an adolescent when he and his family fled to Hong Kong in 1968, during the Cultural Revolution.

He first worked as a hawker. “I disliked life as a hawker, so my father and I went to farm in the New Territories,” he said.

They started by renting a small plot of land in San Tin in 1970. “We ‘saved up’ the land gradually. When nearby farmers stopped farming, we rented their land as well,” Leung explained.

Today, Shun Sum Yuen farm – spanning three hectares – produces a variety of vegetables and flowers. Every summer, a vast field of blooming sunflowers attracts large crowds of visitors.

However, the farm’s future is now overshadowed by the Northern Metropolis development. The mega-project announced in 2021 is set to integrate existing new towns in Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai, Fanling, and Sheung Shui, transforming rural areas near the border.

The government is developing the San Tin Technopole, the centrepiece of the Northern Metropolis, which is expected to acquire the land occupied by Shun Sum Yuen in 2026.

The septuagenarian acknowledges that life as a farmer is extremely difficult in Hong Kong, where he feels the government provides little support for the industry. Nevertheless, he wants to carry on with his passion.

To grow the best gladioluses and lilies, he insists on purchasing premium seeds from the Netherlands. A single lily bulb costs around HK$15, Leung said.

If the flowers bloom on time and business is good, a stalk can sell for around HK$25.

“We can’t make much money from farming,” Leung said.

Last year, his entire crop of sunflowers was devastated by heavy rain and wind when the city was hit by Typhoon Wipha, costing him nearly HK$200,000.

However, Leung refused to give up easily. He started planting sunflower seedlings in early February.

“We will transplant the seedlings to the farm once we harvest all the lilies and gladioluses, and hope that during the Easter holiday in early April, Hongkongers can come and see the blooming sunflowers again,” the farmer said.

Leung is also exploring other potential rental sites in the New Territories, bracing for the time when the government reclaims Shun Sum Yuen.

“I like life on the farm. There, we live with four dogs and around 20 cats. I don’t want to move into a public housing unit, trapped by four walls,” he said.