To promote the economy of a tourism township in east China's Zhejiang Province, a group of young officials have racked their brains. Amid the novel coronavirus epidemic, livestreaming offers them a glimmer of hope.

Before the Labor Day holiday (May 1-5), Moganshan Township in Deqing County provided a batch of special offers for local homestays through livestreaming to attract tourists that were snapped up in seconds.

It came out a successful attempt for Shen Chanying and her companions, who have recently turned into livestreamers on Taobao Live, the livestreaming unit of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba. Their efforts were to showcase the cozy homestays and local specialties in Moganshan, a town known for the eponymous mountain tourist site.

Shen and her fellow livestreamers are a group of young cadres who were invited by the county government to help accelerate the resumption of business and production in the wake of the COVID-19 epidemic.

"This is all for my hometown," said Shen in her 30s, who was born and bred in Moganshan. Shen had little knowledge about livestreaming before. Born into a family of local yellow tea producers, Shen said one of her aspirations is to introduce Moganshan's quality agricultural produce to consumers nationwide.

The tourism industry, a pillar of Moganshan's economic structure, has suffered hefty losses as a result of the outbreak, while local agricultural products, such as tea, aquatic products and fruit, have been hard to sell.

"On one occasion we sold about 100 packs of tea leaves within only 15 minutes (during a live show)," Shen said, noting that livestreaming has succeeded in boosting online sales.

Apart from promoting farm produce, Shen said they also expected to introduce Moganshan's green and slow-pace lifestyle to urban people via livestreaming.

To help their hometown overcome adversity, more homestay owners and young town cadres in Moganshan are participating in online livestreaming to rejuvenate local tourism and help farmers sell agricultural produce.

"The live shows display Moganshan's homestays, scenic spots and delicacies, and also increase the influence of the town," said Qian Jiliang, president of Moganshan's homestay association, deeming livestreaming as a friendly medium for business people and farmers to discuss difficulties and solutions.

The epidemic created both challenges and opportunities, Qian said, adding that local homestay operators have expanded online sales channels by using livestream platforms and cooperating with online travel agencies.

Thanks to these efforts, Moganshan's tourism industry is recovering steadily. During the Labor Day holiday, around 60 percent of the homestays in the town saw brisk business.

(Cover: A homestay property in Moganshan Township, Deqing County, east China's Zhejiang Province. /VCG)