SHI ZAOHUA, a 29-year-old wheelchair user, has garnered a huge following of 200,000 fans since finding her niche in livestreaming e-commerce.

One of a growing number of livestreamers, Shi is now fully occupied by China’s largest annual online shopping event, known as Singles’ Day or Double 11, which fell on Wednesday.

Early in the morning, she prepared for the event and headed to her office in the city of Longnan, one of the least developed areas in northwest Gansu Province.

In her virtual store, she sells local specialties from Sichuan pepper to traditional Chinese medicinal materials to customers across the nation.

Shi became wheelchair-bound following a car accident in 2013. Before discovering livestreaming, she used to spend her days inside without the opportunity to work.

“I felt like I was a burden on my family and didn’t know what else I could do,” she said.

Yet an opportunity came knocking the next year when Longnan native Du Guiying returned to her hometown, establishing a farmers’ cooperative under the call of the local government to promote e-commerce as a means to alleviate poverty in rural areas.

Du invited Shi, who can speak standard Mandarin without a regional accent, to help manage her online store and advised her to try livestreaming e-commerce.

“I was astonished,” Shi said. “I felt nervous when talking to the people around me, let alone a live audience.”

But Shi finally conquered her fear. She noted down introductions for local specialties she would display in the livestreaming session and recited them repeatedly in front of a mirror. She nicknamed herself “little stone,” implying she was tenacious and strong, and not afraid of wind or rain.

In early March, Shi made her successful livestreaming debut, selling products worth a total of around 30,000 yuan (US$4,548) in one day.

(Xinhua)