Livestreams see edible fungi sales mushroom

The use of modern technology is raising incomes and helping impoverished families in a mountainous region. Xin Wen reports from Shangluo, Shaanxi.

One May afternoon, shortly after He Jinyi started livestreaming and selling agricultural produce in Jinmi, a village in Zhashui county, Shaanxi province, a villager unexpectedly appeared in front of the camera.

Usually the farmers are too shy to show their faces, but this man was happy to be filmed as he worked, tending to the black fungus, an edible mushroom, he was cultivating.

Having started in spring last year, the use of livestreams to sell produce is still a novelty in the village, which is located in the region of the Qinling-Bashan mountains.

Walking around some greenhouses, He occasionally entered and used her phone and a holder to show the audience how the black fungus is cultivated.

"I feel very happy because it's great that the fungi growers have acknowledged the camera and gained a sense of livestreaming their products, which has boosted my confidence in joining the sector," the 26-year-old said.

In April last year, the law graduate from Northwest University of Political Science and Law in Xi'an, the provincial capital, joined the five-strong livestreaming team at Qinling Tianxia, an e-commerce company based in Zhashui, Shangluo city.

She joined the company, which sells the fungi, in 2016 when she graduated from college.