“Itisagoodwaytocreateadirectlinkbetweenvillageresidentsandtheirfollowers.Wehavewitnessedmanyencouragingstoriesandbelievethefutureofthisbusinessmodeispromising.”
—ZhangFan,amanagerwithshortvideosharingplatformKuaishou
Holdinganelectricdrill,ayoungpigtailedwomanwearingacamouflagetanktopdrillsintoabambootrunk.Asmallstreamofpinkliquidsquirtsoutassheremovesthedrill.Shethenletsthesapflowintoabamboocontainerinherhand.
“Thisiswaxberrybambooliquorbrewedinsidethetree,”shesays,whilemakinganarcwithherarmaroundthebamboo.“Allthebambootreesinthisareahaveliquorbrewinginthem.”
ThisisthesceneinarecentvideoclipuploadedtoKuaishou,ashortvideosharingplatform,byYuanGuihua,a20-year-oldwomaninLeizhaiVillage,TianzhuCounty,southwestChina’sGuizhouProvince.Bysharingvideosaboutherlifeinthevillage,shehasamassedalmost3millionfollowersonKuaishouintwoyears.
Forher,itissimpleandfun;anybodyinherfamilywithasmartphonecanmakeavideoofher.“Wedon’tneedtodoanyeditingorworryaboutshakingoranytechnicalproblemswhilemakingthevideo,”YuantoldBeijingReview.“Myfollowersdon’tmind.”
Fromfuntobusiness
In2016,YuanpostedherfirstvideoonKuaishouofherherdingcattleinthevillage.Withinaday,thethenhighschoolstudentgotover1,000followers.ThisignitedYuan’sinterestinuploadingmorevideostotheplatform,whichhadmorethan120milliondailyactiveusersinJune.
Aftergraduatingfromhighschool,Yuandidn’tgotocollege.Incontrasttomanyotheryoungpeopleinthevillageseekingtomovetobigcities,Yuanchosetostayathometohelpwiththefarmwork.Sheistheyoungestofthree,withanolderbrotherandsister.
In2017,Yuan’snumberoffollowersincreaseddramatically.Mostofhervideosfeaturedhereithereatingorcookingonanopenwoodfireinherfamily’scourtyard.Hermeals,exclusivelymadewithhomegrownandhomemadeingredients,alwaysmadeviewers’mouthswater.Eventually,somebegantooffertobuythepreservedmeatsorsausages,whichwerearegularpartofYuan’srecipes.
“MostofthebuyersarenativetoGuizhoubutworksomewhereelse.Theymissthecomfortfoodoftheirhometowns,”Yuansaid.“Thepreservedmeatsandsausagesarethemostcommonfoodsinmyvillageandeveryoneherecanmakethem.”ThepreservedbeancurdandchoppedredpeppermadebyYuan’smotheralsobecamepopular.
YuanstartedtosellpreservedmeatsandsausagesthroughWeChat,thelargestsocialnetworkingserviceinChinabynumberofusers,whichalsohastheaddedfunctionofpayment.“Atfirst,mymotherdidn’tbelievethatIcouldsellthingsinthisway,”Yuansaid.“ButwhenIsoldseveralthousandkilogramsbeforetheChineseLunarNewYear,shewasreallysurprised.”
TheperiodaroundtheChineseLunarNewYear,whichusuallyfallsinJanuaryorFebruary,isthepeaktimeforYuan’sbusiness,asfamiliesarebusymakingpreservedfoodsinpreparationforthetraditionalfestival,whichisatimeoffamilyreunions.
“IhaveneverbeenoutofGuizhou,butthroughpostingmyvideosonline,Ihavemademanyfriendsfromafar,”Yuansaid.“Ifeelverygratefulforthis.”
“SheissodifferentfromotheryoungwomenweseeeverydayontheInternet,”afollowerwroteunderoneofhervideos.“Shedoesn’tputanymakeupon.Sheeatshappilyoutofabigbowl,notlikethosewhodon’tdaretoeatsoastokeepaslimfigure.Sheissonaturalandprettyinherownway.”
Yuan’srurallifeisalsonewtomany.“Ineverknewthatliquorcouldbebrewedinbambootrunks,”commentedanotherfollower.“Ithinkalotofpeoplelikemestillknowlittleaboutvillagelife.”
Inaddition,Yuan’sbusinesshasbenefitedotherhouseholdsinthevillagebyhelpingthemselltheirownproducts.
Earlierthisyear,Yuansetupacooperativewith33householdsstrugglingwithpovertyinthevillagetoplantKadsuracoccinea,calledXuetengguoinChinese.Thefruit,whichtasteslikealychee,canonlygrowinaclimatesimilartothatinYuan’svillage.ThefirstbatchofthefruitisexpectedtohitthemarketinlateOctober.
Yuanisconsideringregisteringabrandforherproductsbutworriesthatabrandmightsoundtooindustrializedandmayleadtoherlosingcustomerswhoappreciatehernaturalelements.
Hometownprospects
Yuan’sbambooliquorisnormallynotforsale.Shegivessomeawayasgiftstofriendsandtherestisstrictlyforhergrandfather,wholovesit.
ButtherearemanysuchbambooliquorsellersonKuaishou.JiangJinchun,a40-yearoldvillagerfromHengfengCountyineastChina’sJiangxiProvince,isoneofthem.Inhisvideos,Jiang,normallydressedinancientcostume,holdsabamboocontainerwithliquorinonehandandhomemadefoodintheother,eatingeitherbytheriversideorinthenearbyforest.
“Heeatsanddrinkssohappily,”afollowercommented.“Thefoodanddrinklookreallydelicious.”ThishasbecomeanewbusinesschannelforJiang,whoreturnedtohishometownwithhiswifein2012afterbeingintheclothingwholesalebusinessinYiwuinneighboringZhejiangProvinceforyears.
“WeweretoobusytohaveourdaughterlivewithuswhilewewereinYiwuandhadtoleaveherinourhometownwithhergrandparents,”Jiang’swife,XingZhao,toldBeijingReview.“Sometimeswemissedourdaughtersomuchthatwespenteighthoursridingamotorcyclebackhomelateatnightjusttovisither.”
Jianglaunchedane-commercestoreaftercomingbacktoHengfengandmademultipleattemptstoexpandhisbusiness.HestartedtouploadvideostoKuaishouin2014andgraduallygarneredahugefollowing.Withnearly1millionfollowers,Jianghashelpedmorethan200householdsinhisandsurroundingvillagesexporttheirproducts,includingdriedbambooshoots,bambooliquorandalocalsweettea.Healsoteachesothervillagerslookingtopromotetheirproductshowtomakeanduploadvideos.
Nowadays,Jianguploadsvideosalmosteveryday.“Sometimeswemakearoughdraftofthecontent,butmoreoftenthannotwejustmakeitonthespot,”Xingsaid.
YuanGuihua,astaronshortvideosharingplatformKuaishou,showsoffthehomemadefoodsthatfeatureinhervideosCOURTESYPHOTOMorestars
ComparedtoYuanandJiang,GanYouqin’steamismoreprofessional.AfarmerfromSuwutangVillageinLingshanCounty,southChina’sGuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion,GanusedtoworkinneighboringGuangdongProvinceasalow-paidmigrantworkeruntilshedecidedtomovebackhomein2014.
Hernephew,ZhangYangcheng,acollegegraduatewhomajoredinbroadcastingandcommunication,sawpotentialinGan,agoodcookwhoalwaysbroughtfreshideastorecipes,andencouragedhertomakecookingvideostoshareonline.
ThefirstvideoclipwasuploadedtoToutiao,apopularnewsaggregator,onMay19,2017.Ganwassonervousinfrontofthecamerathatshecouldn’tsayawordbutonlylaughed.Later,herlaughterwouldbecomehersignaturefeature.Zhangmadedetailedplansforthecontentofeveryvideotheyuploaded.Theystartedfilmingat10a.m.,finishedinlateafternoonandZhangeditedthefootageatnight.
Xigua,ashortvideosharingplatformaffiliatedtoToutiao,laterofferedGanacontract,givingabigboosttoherfameandbusiness.Withinayear,Gan’sfollowerssurpassed1million.ShehasbecomeamediaphenomenonandwasinvitedtoparticipateinacookingprogramonstatebroadcasterChinaCentralTelevisiononJune4.
Now,Ganuploadstwoclipsaday,witheachgettingmorethan300,000views.Thesalesvolumeofheragriculturalproducts—mostlylocalfruit—easilyexceeds1millionyuan($146,760)eachmonth,amiracleforavendorinaremotevillagewhichisnotevenclosetoarailwaystation.Herhusbandisinchargeofdeliveryandherthreecousinsworkoncustomerservice.
Thesuccessofshortvideosharingplatformsinpromotingagriculturalproductshasledtoofficialstakingactionaswell.OnAugust17,ChenTingjun,MayorofGulinCountyinsouthwestChina’sSichuanProvince,uploadedavideotoDouyin,asubsidiaryofToutiaowithmorethan150milliondailyactiveusersinJune,promotingthecounty’splums.Within10days,plumsalessurpassed150tons.
LiYoujun,MayorofChangshunCountyinGuizhou,hasalsohelpedtosellmorethan80,000green-shelledeggs,alocaldelicacy,viaDouyinandanotherlive-streamingplatform.
Recently,bothXiguaandKuaishoulaunchedspecificcolumnsforruralresidentstopromotetheirproducts.“Itisagoodwaytocreateadirectlinkbetweenvillageresidentsandtheirfollowers,”saidZhangFan,amanagerwithKuaishou.“Wehavewitnessedmanyencouragingstoriesandbelievethefutureofthisbusinessmodeispromising.”
CopyeditedbyRebecaToledo
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