Slow train lets farmers promote agricultural products through livestreaming

While Jia Mingxuan promoted a specialty product during a livestreaming session on a slow train, he also shared the joy of harvest with viewers by showing ripe rice and corn that were being grown on farmlands along the route.

"This corn is a raw material for making Niandoubao, a local snack which is green and pollution-free. In northeast China, Niandoubao is a symbol of prosperity. I wish you all prosperous lives," said Jia during the livestreaming show.

Jia Mingxuan promotes steamed buns from Huolonggou village, Hailin city, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, on a train. (Photo/Li Yuxiang)

Jia, from Huolonggou village, Hailin city, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, is head of a factory that produces Niandoubao, a kind of steamed bun stuffed with sweetened bean paste.

Jia was travelling on train 6288/5, which was running from Changting township of Hailin city to Mudanjiang city, Heilongjiang Province on Oct.18. The train travelled at an average speed of about 40 km per hour, and would stop at three stations during the 74-km journey.

Huolonggou village of Changting township, situated along the route, produces large quantities of high-quality corn. Because the water in the village is sweet and clear, the steamed buns made with this water are delicious and highly nutritious.

In Huolonggou, almost every household has maintained the tradition of making steamed buns. However, due to its backward transportation system, the specialty product was little known by outsiders in the past.

To promote Niaodoubao and turn it into a cash cow for locals, Jia established a steamed bun factory and invited locals to join it. The local villagers would take the products to the city via the slow train so that they could reach more customers.

"The train was the only means of transportation available to us on snowy days, and a train ticket cost only 4 yuan. I went to the city five to six times a week by train, which was convenient and cost-effective," Jia recalled.

Thanks to several years of efforts made by Jia and his fellow villagers, the steamed buns finally became popular in the market, and brought in more than 100,000 yuan ($13,690) for Jia in a year.

In 2017, Jia launched the "Huolonggou" steamed bun brand. Today, the products’ annual sales have exceeded 1 million yuan.

All the employees at Jia's factory are from Huolonggou village. "There are 60 villagers working in my factory, and each of them can earn more than 3,000 yuan a month," Jia said.

In recent years, Jia's business has been affected by the COVID pandemic. To boost sales of his products, he began promoting steamed buns via livestreaming on the train.

In September 2022, China Railway Harbin Bureau Group upgraded 18 slow trains, including train 6288/5. One cabin was specially established for display and promotion of agricultural products, including steamed buns from Jia's factory.

"Not many slow trains have provided us a place to promote agricultural products free of charge. If I could host livestreaming shows to promote agricultural products, product sales would be greatly boosted," Jia said. The train’s crew members backed his idea, and reserved a seat for farmers to hold livestreaming shows to promote their products on the train.

"In the past, we waited for dealers to buy our products. These days, sales of the products have doubled through livestreaming sessions," said Jia.