In Huashan Village of Mulan County in Heilongjiang Province in the northeast of the Chinese mainland, Chen Lili is livestreaming the latest rice harvest, connecting with customers nationwide using her smartphone.
"I once dreamed of escaping the countryside," recalls Chen. After graduating from university in 2016, she spent several years in Beijing's online media industry. But in December 2021, Chen tried livestreaming her hometown's rice for the first time—and within hours, 6,000 orders flowed in.
That breakthrough taught her a powerful lesson: you don't need a big company to sell farm produce—just a smartphone and authentic storytelling. By May 2022, she decided to leave her urban career behind. With her husband’s support, she returned home to build a rice brand from scratch.
Early videos struggled to gain traction. Then Chen began sharing her journey from city life to rural entrepreneurship. Her candid storytelling struck a chord, propelling her follower count past one million in months.
Building on this success, Chen launched a rice procurement program for local farmers in 2023. She encouraged growers to plant premium rice varieties by promising guaranteed buyback prices. By 2024, the program covered 400 hectares, helped 90 households, and boosted their combined income by 1.8 million yuan (about $250,000).
"I planted the new variety on half of my 13-hectare plot last year, and Chen bought every grain she promised," says Ma Xiuying, a Huashan villager. "This year, I'm planting all 13 hectares with it."
From the fertile plains of the northeast to the misty mountains of the southwest, a wave of digital transformation is sweeping across rural areas of the Chinese mainland. Smart technology—from IoT sensors to e-commerce livestreams—is empowering farmers, driving efficiency gains and income growth.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
