E-commerce opens broader markets for Xizang specialties

LHASA -- In Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region, a county perched at an altitude of 3,800 meters is embracing the digital era through livestreaming.

Tashi Lhamo, a 34-year-old resident of Qonggyai county, held up her phone and greeted her audience: "I just got back from the farm. Please give me lots of likes today." With ease, she promoted local products to her livestream viewers, a scene that has become increasingly common in this once-isolated highland.

Thanks to the completion of a large-scale telecom network upgrade, internet coverage has become increasingly more stable, prompting many villagers to jump on the e-commerce bandwagon. A simple smartphone now connects the area with the outside world.

As the county's most popular influencer, Tashi Lhamo has around 4 million followers across Chinese video-sharing platforms. Through her livestreams, she helps villagers sell local specialties like butter and tsamba -- the most popular staple food in Xizang -- to customers nationwide, generating an annual income of more than 1 million yuan (about $139,109).

Across Xizang, e-commerce is gaining momentum as the regional government seeks to promote high-quality development of the sector through measures including supportive policies, online vouchers, e-commerce bases and livestreaming competitions.

According to the regional commerce department, from January to April this year, Xizang's online retail sales reached 10.84 billion yuan, up 36.7 percent year-on-year. Of that total, livestreaming accounted for 3.36 billion yuan, a 41.8 percent increase, while online sales of agricultural products hit 320 million yuan, up 17.5 percent from the same period last year.

In the regional capital of Lhasa, local wool products are rolling off the production lines at a factory run by Xizang Holy Trust Industry Co., Ltd.

"In the past, most of our orders came from offline channels. Now, by leveraging Xizang's rich wool resources, we have developed an integrated model: e-commerce orders drive on-demand production, cooperatives facilitate procurement, and herders adjust livestock breeding and wool harvesting based on market demand," said Lhapa Trinley, board chairman of the company.

Today, through various online platforms, the company's products, such as scarves, clothing and rugs, are sold across China. Semi-processed materials like washed wool, cashmere and yak wool are even exported to countries including Nepal and India.

Beyond agricultural and pastoral goods, cultural products such as Tibetan incense and traditional accessories are also gaining popularity, introducing Tibetan culture to wider audiences.

"E-commerce means that Xizang's products are no longer niche," said Li Yanping, head of the e-commerce division at the regional commerce department, adding that the region plans to improve rural logistics and support more e-commerce talent to further expand the reach of its specialties.