Livestreaming contributes to China’s poverty alleviation

“Look! This is the forest where the chickens run about. Feeding on natural insects instead of fodder, the chickens produce both tasty and nutritious eggs. Even the eggshell is green, which is natural.”

Liao Chaocheng, an official stationed at Jiayi village, Jihua township, Rongjiang county, Guizhou province makes a video to promote local specialties on May 8. Photo by Liu Jinyin/People’s Daily Online

Wu Xiaomeng, a local resident of Yanshang village, Guyang town, Changshun county in southwest China’s Guizhou province, advertised the eggs of her hometown on a livestreaming show, trying to introduce the products to more through the internet.

The 24-year-old who’s from a registered poor family had planned to seek a job outside her hometown after the Spring Festival, but the sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic disturbed her plan.

When she was worried about her work, Wei Jian, first secretary in charge of poverty alleviation of the village, came to her, recommending the “phubber” to sell local specialties online.

In early February, Wu became an online salesperson of a local trade company, selling local “green-shell” eggs on livestreaming platforms such as Kuaishou and Taobao Live. However, the business didn’t go well at the beginning though she tried hard.

So Wu resorted to another strategy. She takes cameras with her every time she buys eggs from local farmers, so that she can better present the “living conditions” of the chickens to the viewers.

By doing so, her orders gradually increased, and the turnover once exceeded 3,000 yuan ($422.5) in just 20 minutes. “The reason why the business picked up is that, through the camera, the customers see the good quality of the eggs.”

Wu’s family slipped into poverty a few years earlier as her family members suffered severe diseases. Her parents’ income from doing farm work and part-time jobs could not cover the cost for treatment and the schooling of Wu and her younger sister. Now, with a monthly salary of 1,800 yuan and extra bonus, Wu is genuinely happy as she can improve the living conditions of her family, and has more to expect for the future.

For Wu, selling eggs is merely a start. She has made up her mind to stay in her village and concentrate on e-commerce to sell more local specialties such as apples, honey and rapeseed oil, so as to embrace a better life together with her fellow villagers.