"Water Eight Immortals" refers to eight kinds of vegetables, such as Zizania latifolia, lotus root, cress, Euryale ferox, arrowhead, water chestnut and water chestnut. They are traditionally cultivated aquatic vegetables, mainly distributed in Wuzhong District, Wujiang, Changshu, Taicang, Zhangjiagang and Kunshan in Suzhou. Once formed a distinctive local characteristics, renowned at home and abroad, so known as the "water eight immortals."
Wumen Water Town is rich in aquatic crops, with the largest variety in China:
Since ancient times, lotus roots in the lotus pond of Hengshan Mountain, Euryale ferox in the south, Lugongling in Meiwan, Eleocharis tuberosa and the lotus roots in Huangtiandang outside Fenmen have been well known. These aquatic cash crops, such as arrowheads, wild water bamboo, water celery and taro, have various nutritional and economic values and have been merged by people. "Water chestnut comes in spring, lotus root comes in summer, arrowhead celery comes in late autumn and winter, fresh water bamboo comes in October, and aquatic seasonal vegetables" is a true portrayal of aquatic vegetables in Suzhou, the land of fish and rice.
Chefang Town, known as "six lakes and one river" in the suburbs of Suzhou, has the advantage of planting aquatic vegetables because of its low terrain and many lakes and fields. Those farmers who live by the "Eight Immortals of Water" live in small buildings built by themselves, and their life is full of breath. For them, land is not the only source of life, but it is the foundation of their life. They can forget other things, but they won't forget to plant cress after harvesting a crop of "chicken head rice". However, the increasingly tense land forces them to feel nervous inside.