Young woman helps farmers sell characteristic products in Xinjiang

Zhu Hongmei uses her phone to introduce vacuum-packed Chinese wolfberries to netizens on a livestreaming platform at her studio in Jinghe county, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Known as “Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region’s wolfberry capital,” Jinghe county is notable for producing a lot of the fruit. Hunan province native Zhu Hongmei enjoys the product and moved to the area in 2013 after she graduated from college. Jinghe has been vigorously promoting e-commerce and had implemented preferential policies related to the fruit, so Zhu decided to start a business there.

Zhu benefited from free rent for the first three years that she did business; discounted water, electric, and internet rates; opportunities for further study and participating in exhibitions; and other programs and incentives. She has been selling characteristic agricultural products from Xinjiang online for the last seven years, and the scope of her business has gradually expanded as the market has developed.

Zhu takes her team members to the areas where the high-quality agricultural products that they sell are grown and produced during harvest seasons to record video and promote them online. They have documented Jinghe’s wolfberries, Yili Kazak autonomous prefecture’s honey, walnuts and jujubes from southern Xinjiang, and other items. Every July, more than 6,666 ha’s worth of wolfberries are ready to be harvested in Jinghe, and Zhu and her colleagues shuffle between factories and fields livestreaming the proceedings and selling various products online. Their customers are mostly located throughout Guangdong, Zhejiang and Hubei provinces.

“We currently ship an average of about one ton of wolfberries a day,” Zhu stated. “We have a lot of repeat customers, a sure sign that they speak highly of our products.”

Several Chinese wolfberry cooperatives in Jinghe county that grow the crop on a total of more than 133 ha are currently cooperating with Zhu. She recruited more than 10 locals to join her team as her business expands. She has also become an e-commerce science and technology commissioner and conducts training sessions in many locations in Xinjiang so that more people can benefit.

“Xinjiang's characteristic agricultural products are fundamental to my attempts to increase sales,” Zhu explained with passion. “The larger my business is, the more responsibility I have. The members of the cooperatives that I work with feel more confident about our endeavors when our products sell well.”