The Evergreen Township, covering an area of 72.6 square kilometers, is located in Beijing's western suburbs. It is named "Evergreen" because it supplies fresh vegetables to the city's residents all the year round.

The township is a collectively owned unit that was merged from six advanced agricultural producers' cooperatives in 1958. To keep track of growing production the township has become the basic accounting unit since 1978. Under the township there are eight vegetable-growing production brigades, two grain production centers, an agricultural experimental center, a farm machinery repair station, a fruit and forestry company, an animal husbandry and native produce company, an industrial company, a construction company and a service center.

The township has also introduced various systems of responsibility for agricultural production. Groups or individual households sign contracts with the township according to specialized functions and the income of the laborers is closely linked with the results of their own harvests.

The township has benefits for members including free primary and secondary school education, free nursery care, free medical treatment, 56-day maternity leave with full pay and retirement pensions.