Live streaming village life brings Chinese farmer big bucks

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Liu Jinyin might have just cracked the code of overnight success in China's booming and cutthroat live streaming industry. In just six months of broadcasting online, he has amassed 100,000 followers and racked up over 80,000 yuan (around 12,240 US dollars) in revenue.

But the 26-year-old man is not your typical Internet celebrity. He doesn't have the most expensive cameras to shoot, or the best equipment for a flattering lighting. He neither sings nor stirs controversy with inflammable opinions or daring looks. He also does not give makeup tips or offers no romantic advice.

He likes to stick to the basics, whether in the tools he uses or the content he broadcasts, and that's probably what made an army of social media users fall in love with him.

Liu is a typical farmer from a rural area in southwest China’ s Sichuan Province, yet that did not stop him from being big among urbanites.

Photo via Chengdu Business Daily

He basically wakes up at six o’clock every morning and readies himself to begin live-streaming, in a pair of ripped shorts and rubber clogs. What viewers flock to see are the very mundane chores Liu performs on day-to-day basis, from feeding pigs to catching fish.

Photo via Chengdu Business Daily

It all started earlier this year with only five followers and no income from the virtual presents netizens love to gift their favorite Internet stars.

But the initial defeat did not deter him from trying again.

One failure led to another, until the viewership of his video – and lifestyle – gained steam. His followers have said watching Liu is reminiscent of their childhood memories.

On the second month of his broadcasting journey, 10,000 were keeping up with Liu, and in the next four months the number had decupled.

Photo via Chengdu Business Daily

Liu became more committed to live streaming, and today makes around 1,000 yuan per day – a decent day's pay when taking into consideration that the rural per capita disposable income stood at 12,363 yuan in 2016 in China.

With the aim of taking his experience to the next level, he spent some 20,000 yuan on additional devices: two brand new iPhones, ten chargers and a tripod, so he can present better visuals for his growing base of followers.

The inflation in the numbers of viewers did not turn Liu into a swollen-headed live-streamer.

“I’m not an online celebrity, but merely an outdoorsy peasant,” he told Chengdu Business Daily.

Photo via Chengdu Business Daily

The collective support Liu receives from the online community does not extend to the offline world, especially from his parents. They believe their son is an idle worker and maintain the idea that farm work is their only occupation.

The China Internet Network Information Center said the number of online broadcasting users has reached 325 million across the country last year, and China’s live streaming industry could top five billion US dollars by the end of 2017, according to Credit Suisse Group.