E-commerce helps Xinjiang farmers reach markets across China

E-commerce is helping farmers in Aksu Prefecture, located in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region, overcome geographical obstacles and sell their products to consumers across the country.

Xinjiang, as China’s westernmost region, bordering Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, is thousands of kilometres away from eastern markets, an insurmountable distance for local fruit farmers.

“Our apples (used to) reach domestic markets through traditional methods. The problem is that they have to be picked before they are ripe because of the long transportation time,” said Zhou Hu, owner of Aksu Qiguo E-commerce.

Zhou runs a company that sells fruit purchased from local farmers to consumers online in live-streamed programs.

“Previously, apples could arrive in five to seven days. Now, with e-commerce, it takes two to three days,” Zhou said.

As the company grew, Zhou helped increase the income of local farmers.

“We offer farmers 20 percent more in total price than traditional buyers. This has a direct impact on farmers,” Zhou said.

Taking advantage of the growth in e-commerce, Rizwan Guli Erkin opened a store called Ga Beng Cui Dry Fruit Store on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, to help her parents sell walnuts in paper shells.

“My parents grow walnuts. They only know how to grow them, but not how to sell them. So after college, I helped them with sales,” she said.

Another person who saw this opportunity and returned home to develop local business is Zheng Haozhe, CEO of Future Village, an accommodation company in Onsu County, Aksu.

“I went to the U.S. when I was 14. I started in the ninth grade of high school. The U.S. gave me a very good education, but now I am very grateful to have returned to my country and continue to build it, especially in the border region in the west where things are not very developed,” Zheng said.

E-commerce helps Xinjiang farmers reach markets across China

Heavy rainfall from Friday to Saturday and flooding in southwestern China’s Guizhou Province submerged homes, blocked roads and trapped residents.

Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou is one of the worst-affected areas. On Saturday afternoon, the local government raised the flood response level to level II.

China has a four-tier flood emergency response system, with Tier I being the most urgent response.

The water level in the Wuyang River in Shibing County was about 0.5 meters above the warning line. Several low-lying areas were flooded.

Heavy rains also caused mountain streams to form, trapping four residents in Shibing County. After receiving the report, rescuers rushed to the scene and laid out lifelines to carry the residents to safety.

In Cengong County, several residents were trapped in their homes due to increasing floods. Immediately after receiving the report, rescuers quickly rushed to the houses and evacuated them in batches using lifeboats.

Yuqing County in Zunyi City also suffered heavy rains. The rising Yuqing River caused flooding that submerged some properties along the river.

Local security authorities quickly established cordons to cordon off dangerous areas.

With many roads blocked due to landslides, local authorities wasted no time in sending workers and machines to remove rocks, trees and mud to reopen the roads as soon as possible.

Rain-induced floods inundate homes, destroy roads and strand residents in Guizhou