Xuwen, located on the southernmost tip of the Chinese mainland, boasts volcanic soil that is at least tens of thousands of years old, which, combined with a low altitude and abundant rainfall, contributes to a conducive environment for pineapples. Dubbed the largest plantation base in China, the county grows one out of every three pineapples in the country, registering an annual output of nearly 700,000 tonnes.
While output of the fruit faces is no problem, the same cannot be said of sales. Answering China's call of vitalizing its rural areas and trying to cure sales stagnation,
Wang Xiaoying and Wu Jianlian, locals of Xuwen County, south China's Guangdong Province, began creating live broadcasts and videos that have proven to be successful.
Wang and Wu buried themselves under a sea of pineapples to promote the sweet treat via livestreaming and short videos all through the month of March, high season for the prickly fruit.
The field purchase price per kilo rallied in March, punching through the eight yuan barrier (about 1.24 U.S. dollars), the highest recorded price in over three decades. This uptick left farmers, including Wu, smiling from ear to ear.
In order to help promote the sweet local specialty, Wang, then an anchor at a local television station, hosted a livestream in February of 2020. Tens of thousands of buyers tuned in, and more than 1.65 million jin (825 tonnes) of pineapples were traded. And Wang rose to fame.