China ushered in its five-day Labor Day holiday this Saturday. Embraced by the country's holidaymakers as a long break to enjoy, May Day is also a time to pay tribute to those Chinese workers whose constant dedication, diligence and devotion keep the nation running and moving forward – not least the farmers who help guard China’s "rice bowls" and are no doubt worthy of a moment of appreciation.

Feeding around one-fifth of the global population with about nine percent of the world's arable land, China has placed a high value on agricultural development and rural revitalization and has been promoting smart farming.

A new generation of tech-savvy farmers has been using advanced agricultural machinery, agronomy technologies, artificial intelligence, 5G and the Internet of Things as their most up-to-date "farm tools," which are not only serving to improve field management but also promote sales of agricultural products.

Benefiting from modernizing agricultural practices, including soilless cultivation technologies, automatic remote fertilization and irrigation machines, and smart greenhouses and drone pesticide spraying, a growing number of Chinese farmers boasting a knowledge of digital and internet technologies have been riding the wave of livestreaming e-commerce, selling local specialties online while sharing their authentic rural life through the camera lens as they explore their own business models.