Young shepherd live streams sheep feeding to promote lamb sales

Zhang Zhongshan, a 29-year-old shepherd who used to work as a migrant worker in big cities, has now returned to his hometown to take up sheep husbandry and lamb sales. Zhang sometimes makes use of the benefits of live-streaming to attract more customers.

Zhang Zhongshan promotes lamb in a live streaming session. (Photo/chinanews.com)

After graduating from a technical secondary school nine years ago, Zhang, born in Dongxiang Autonomous County of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China's Gansu province, left his hometown for jobs that weren’t related to farming, which was the path that most youngsters in his village took. However, he finally decided to return to his hometown and take on sheep raising.

With the rising popularity of lamb in Dongxiang autonomous county, Zhang saw a huge business opportunity in selling related products via online platforms, said the young man, explaining his original intention of coming back.

Photo shows Zhang Zhongshan taking a picture of his product. (Photo/chinanews.com)

Photo shows Zhang Zhongshan inspecting a lamb's health condition. (Photo/chinanews.com)

In 2017, Zhang set about building sheep sheds, buying lambs, constructing a professional farming cooperative, and mobilizing his neighbors to join the culturing farm. Meanwhile, he also opened an online store, taught himself photography skills, and even took on the job of network anchor to promote sales.

Without live streaming, an online store would easily lose its competitive edge and be forgotten, said Zhang, who often live broadcasts sheep feeding via e-commerce platforms.

According to statistics, thanks to the growing popularity of lamb products in Dongxiang, the number of sheep raised in the county reached 1.8 million by the end of 2020, with lamb output totaling 21,300 tons, and the production value exceeding 1.445 billion yuan ($223 million). By the end of this year, the number of sheep raised in the county will reach 2 million.