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| Photo by China Daily |
Chinese farmers are increasingly turning to livestreaming to connect directly with consumers and overcome challenges in selling their produce offline. Gao Chaorong, a 56-year-old farmer growing sweet potatoes, peanuts, and wheat, is among many attending “hands-on livestreaming bootcamps” to learn how to showcase their products via mobile phones. This shift is part of a broader trend where “new farmers” leverage digital tools and social media platforms like Douyin (China’s TikTok) and Xiaohongshu to reach China’s vast internet user base of over one billion.
The number of rural content creators on Douyin has surged by 52 percent in the past year, with the hashtag “new farmers” amassing more than 227 million views on Xiaohongshu. Local governments are actively supporting this digital transformation by training officials to assist farmers in livestreaming and online sales.
Chen Xichuan, a Communist Party cadre in Pingdu, Shandong, exemplifies this effort by livestreaming fresh produce outdoors to entice consumers, emphasizing the difficulties farmers face in traditional offline markets. The adoption of livestreaming is seen as a vital tool in China’s rural revitalisation strategy, helping farmers prevent crop losses and tap into new economic opportunities through e-commerce.
This digital empowerment of rural communities reflects China’s commitment to modernising agriculture and bridging the urban-rural divide by integrating technology and social media into farming and sales.