E-commerce promotes rural revitalization in NW China's Qinghai

E-commerce has expanded sales channels of local specialties and boosted rural revitalization in Menyuan Hui autonomous county, northwest China's Qinghai Province.

"Now, livestream marketing has become the most important channel for boosting sales of our beef and mutton. We hold a livestream show almost each day," said Ma Xingjun, who established a cooperative with his elder brother Ma Xingquan in Maying village, Huangcheng township of Menyuan.

The two brothers held their first livestream on Sept. 19, 2021. Unexpectedly, the show was viewed over 5,000 times and received more than 10 orders with transactions worth over 4,000 yuan ($557) in more than one hour.

That year, the brothers also attended an online training on livestream marketing organized by the province, which has helped them boost the sales of their products.

"From this January to the present, our online and offline sales have exceeded 5.8 million yuan, with online sales accounting for more than 70 percent of the total," said Ma Xingjun.

The brothers have raised over 800 yaks. Every yak has a QR code which shows how much quality forage it has consumed during each stage of its growth, ensuring quality control of the process from "pasture to the dining table."

"When tens of thousands of people across the country watch our livestream, they may give their opinions any time. So we have to raise our breeding standards to better meet people's diverse needs," Ma Xingquan said.

The brothers have also promoted the deep processing of yak meat. Last year, they collaborated with a company in Zibo city, east China's Shandong Province. "At the company, our yak meat is processed into meat paste and dried yak meat, which will be affixed with our cooperative's label and sold through e-commerce channels," Ma Xingquan said, adding that these products have seen strong sales.

An increasing number of local residents have gradually traded sheep and yaks for shares of the two brothers' cooperative, and some have held livestreams and produced short videos to expand sales channels.

"By taking the lead in building a business these years, we have enabled local residents to see the possibilities of developing e-commerce, and have worked together with them to introduce more local specialties to other regions of China," Ma Xingquan said.

An express delivery vehicle from Menyuan Hui Autonomous County runs on the road. (People's Daily/Jia Fengfeng)

The brothers have sold their products on the online shopping mall of the e-commerce public service center in Menyuan.

Ma Xingjun, who is also in charge of a rural e-commerce service station, said they cooperate with e-commerce platforms, logistics companies, and e-commerce service stations and logistics service stations at the township and village level, as well as rural convenience stores to promote the integrated development of e-commerce and logistics.

Wu Binhua, deputy head of the bureau of commerce, industry and information technology in Menyuan, said the e-commerce public service center has worked with 82 e-commerce service stations in rural areas in the county, thanks to efforts of the past seven-plus years, providing services for the online sales of local specialties.

Wu added that over 2,000 orders worth more than 400,000 yuan were placed on the online shopping mall of the county's e-commerce public service center at an online Chinese New Year shopping festival during this year's Spring Festival.

The e-commerce public service center has gathered 22 e-commerce enterprises in Menyuan. In 2022, the center's turnover achieved through e-commerce exceeded 46.09 million yuan.

"We will strive to foster a new development paradigm of Menyuan's e-commerce industry by leveraging the e-commerce public service center to guide small and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives of agriculture, grazers, and the self-employed to promote the deep processing of farm products," said Wu.