A so-called 'Vegetable Brigade' has taken soil, and the law, into their own hands by reclaiming land around a lake in Nanning in southern China for their own urban farming.

The land around Bixiang Lake in Wuxiang New District is due to be developed into 'Bixiang Lake Park'. But with the bulldozers yet to move in, local gardeners earlier this year spotted an opportunity to grow their own food on the vacant land.

Soon, vegetable patches appeared around the city lake in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The authorities later tried to remove the impromptu farms but the green-fingered locals, dubbed The Vegetable Brigade, simply moved to other wasteland nearby. Then, when there was still no sign of construction around Bixiang Lake, they moved back to their original location.

This footage was filmed and produced 11 March 2023.

The video shows several vegetable fields being reclaimed around Bixiang Lake in Wuxiang New District in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Bixiang Lake Park has not started yet, and the land around the lake has been reclaimed by nearby residents as vegetable fields. It is learnt that in the first half of 2022, some people started to dig and plant vegetables here, attracting many residents living in nearby buildings to join the ranks of digging and planting vegetables. Later, the authorities came to clean up, "vegetable brigade" moved to a nearby community of wasteland, then there is no sign of construction, "vegetable brigade" moved back.