Early on the morning of 29 July, in the lush green ponds of Wanjing and Minfeng villages in Xianlin Subdistrict, Yuhang District, local villagers sat perched in large wooden tubs—each over a metre across—bent over and pushing aside dense layers of water chestnut leaves to harvest the tender, fresh nuts from beneath the surface. As the tubs glided along, they left a winding trail of open water behind them. Xianlin sits at the junction of watery plains and hilly terrain, where parts of the area are dotted with ponds and streams. Water chestnut farming has a long history here—in the old days, nearly every household grew them. Today, only about 20 mu of chestnut ponds remain, mostly in villages like Wanjing and Minfeng, cultivating the four-horned variety. They’re crisp and refreshing when eaten raw, and soft and starchy when cooked. The harvest season runs through the hottest months of the year, from July to September. Even as urbanization reshapes Xianlin’s waterfront landscape, the local water chestnut harvesters are keeping alive a timeless summer scene—using nothing but wooden tubs as boats and their own hands as oars, gliding through the green duckweed as they have for generations.