Chinese Farmer Gets New Lease on Life Through E-commerce

Yu Junqiang, a farmer in northwest China's Gansu Province, had more than 10,000 orders of medicinal products worth 400,000 yuan (about 60,400 U.S. dollars) during the annual Singles' Day online shopping spree this year.

Over a decade ago, Yu could not even recognize the power button on a computer. Now he has become a successful e-commerce businessman and also the owner of a local company.

Checking his clothes and hair, the 41-year-old man turned on his phone camera, clicked on the screen, and started his livestreaming show, introducing his products to people across the nation. Behind him, his employees were busy packing parcels.

"The Singles' Day is one of the busiest days for us. We worked overtime for days to prepare for the surging online sales," said Yu, whose eyes were black-ringed.

Yu lives in Zhongbao Village in Minxian County. It is one of the 52 Chinese counties yet to be delisted as a "poverty-stricken" county. It is also one of the biggest producers of Angelica Sinensis, astragalus root, and Codonopsis pilosula in China. The herb industry generates over 60 percent of its local income.

Yu's family has been farming for generations. They grew wheat and Angelica Sinensis. When he was young, Yu went out to work to ease the burden of the family. He would carry a bag of Angelica Sinensis and sell it on the roadside.

His goods did not sell well. Although people in the urban area showed curiosity about the natural medicinal materials, few of them would make a purchase.

A man who set up a stall next to Yu once suggested that he should sell his products online.

Back then, Yu knew little about the Internet. Following the man's advice, he went to an Internet cafe to try this new thing.

"The first time I went to the Internet cafe, I didn't know how to turn on the computer," said Yu.

Since then, Yu went to the Internet location every day after work and learned how to type and sell things online. Through the Internet, he found a different world.

In 2009, acting on a call from the local government to promote e-commerce as a way to alleviate poverty in rural areas, Yu returned to his hometown and prepared to start his own business.

He set up an online shop on Taobao, a platform under China's e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba, and sold Chinese medicinal products online. However, his online shop did not receive any orders for three months.

"It was a hard time, but I felt I was trying and moving forward," he said.

During the daytime, he read books related to web design and marketing strategies, and in the evening, he stayed at the shop overnight to practice what he learned from the books.

Gradually, his online shop picked up. "People are paying more attention to their health. Especially in south China, many families have the habit now of drinking herbal tea," Yu said.

As his business grew, Yu established an e-commerce company in 2017 and hired skilled workers to run his online business.

To help more villagers rid themselves of poverty, he set up a cooperative and purchased medicinal materials from impoverished families at a price higher than the market price. Now, his cooperative attracts more than 170 impoverished households.

"E-commerce has brought me a new lease on life. I'm still a farmer, but I'm a new farmer in the Internet era," said Yu.