Field of streams
Farmers in rural Zhejiang and the rest of the country are using e-commerce and livestreams to achieve prosperity, Ma Zhenhuan, Wang Lianqing and Luo Yu report in Quzhou, Zhejiang.
Xu Xiaohua sits in front of a ring-shaped LED light in rural Zhejiang province, presenting succulent plants grown in his greenhouse via livestream. This has become part of the 29-year-old farmer's nightly work routine.
Seven years ago, the livestream anchor was a staff member at an insurance company.
Driven by his love of succulents, Xu quit his job in 2014 and started a business growing the plants in Shangjiang village in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, with a 300,000 yuan ($43,100) loan.
Sales were tepid in the beginning－until he started livestreaming to promote online sales in 2016, a national trend that has continued injecting vitality into traditional businesses.
Quzhou's Kecheng district initiated a campaign in September 2019 to train farmers to become livestreaming anchors for the sales of agricultural products. Xu was one of the first trainees.
The training courses helped them learn about livestreaming techniques and presentation skills to appeal to audiences.
Xu is now an old hand at selling goods on livestreaming platforms after training and practice, which enables him to run his business steadily despite the COVID-19 epidemic.
