Mobile Internet helps alleviate poverty
"Good morning, I am A-juan. Today I will be introducing you a local specialty: wild Tibetan angelica."
Wearing Gyarong Tibetan dress and sitting amongst a large area of angelica, 37-year-old He Yujuan starts a live mobile video. Half an hour later, the number of live viewers reaches tens of thousands, and the number of orders is rising.
The above scene occurred recently in Xiaojin County in Aba Prefecture, Sichuan Province, one of China's Gyarong Tibetan communities. The local area is rich in apples, wild mushrooms, and angelica, but due to its remote location, these products are unsalable.
But with the help of a live webcast, He Yujuan, a resident of Shuangqiao Village has become an "Internet celebrity", sold more than 3 million yuan (0.45 million US dollars) from local specialties in 2018.
"In the past, few people know about these products. As long as they are publicized, they will definitely sell well," He Yujuan said.
He Yujuan, who has been a tour guide for many years, said that she came to know about the mobile short video and live video industry by chance in the end of 2017, then she came up with the idea of "selling specialty products by live video". In just one year, she gained more than 2 million fans on different major online platforms.
Speaking about her success, He Yujuan says that the unique Gyarong Tibetan culture is the reason. In her live and short videos, she always wears traditional Gyarong Tibetan ethnic dress, and she often sings local song and dances local dances. The background of her videos is mainly the snow mountains and the grasslands.
"In the morning, I shoot a short video or live video. In the afternoon I may go to a farmer's home to buy local products, and occasionally I meet fans who come from all over the country," said He Yujuan.
After becoming an "Internet celebrity", He Yujuan started using her own influence to benefit local people. She said that in future she hopes to open an "Internet celebrity" incubation studio in her village "to bring more Tibetan women into this industry and help people rise out of poverty."