Apple grower in E China's Shandong sells apples on short-video platform in fluent English

Li Xiaoxia packages apples. (Photo/Su Wenkai)

At 57 years old, Li Xiaoxia, dressed in a black down jacket and a red headscarf, stands in a field. In front of her are apples from her own orchard, making her look every bit the part of a traditional farmer.

But when she speaks, it's a completely different story.

"Thanks for loving me so much," she said in a video recorded in her family's orchard, located in Zhaoyuan city, east China's Shandong Province, while encouraging viewers to bravely pursue their interests and hobbies. Blending her traditional rural identity and her impressive English fluency, the short video garnered over 6,000 likes and more than 200 comments in less than a day after it was posted.

Li Xiaoxia had worked as an English teacher for nearly 20 years before she retired in 2022. Yearning for a pastoral life, she leased an old orchard of over 1,000 mu (approximately 66.67 hectares) in Tengjia village, Biguo town of Zhaoyuan with her family, and transformed it into a modern orchard.

"Since I've made the decision to grow apples, I must throw myself into it," she said with enthusiasm. Li Xiaoxia handled everything personally, including visiting experts, conducting field research at orchards in neighboring towns and townships, and ultimately, she selected apple varieties well-suited to Zhaoyuan's climate. In addition, she introduced modern facilities including a trellis system, anti-hail nets, and an integrated irrigation and fertilization system.

Every morning, Li Xiaoxia spends time in the orchard, weeding, fertilizing, thinning fruit, and harvesting apples. The years of hard work under the sun have aged her, but she is content. "Being a fruit farmer is physically exhausting, but I feel very fulfilled every day," she said.

Li Xiaoxia (R) and her niece Li Shaoyan promote apples in a livestreaming session. (Photo/Qin Haocheng)

Thanks to advanced technology and high yield rates, her orchard has become a demonstration orchard for the local area. She has actively shared her experiences and provided technical guidance to neighboring fruit farmers, promoting the development of large-scale orchards in the area.

Additionally, during the peak fruiting period each year, the orchard can provide about 200 jobs and increase farmers' total income by approximately five million yuan (about $688,050).

Last fall, Li Xiaoxia faced her biggest challenge yet since the opening of her orchard: over 50,000 kilograms of unsold apples. Her niece Li Shaoyan suggested making short videos to market the apples. Li Xiaoxia was hesitant, but Li Shaoyan convinced her by saying, "young people will surely love watching a farmer promoting her apples in English."

On Jan. 30, or the 2nd day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar, standing in front of the camera, she introduced her homegrown apples in fluent English. Then Li Shaoyan edited and uploaded the video on a short-video platform that evening, which quickly went viral.

Viewers flooded the comments with praise, saying "Your English is very fluent," and "You're never too old to learn!" To date, she has posted more than a dozen short videos, amassing an impressive 240,000 followers and millions of likes.

She also bravely tried to sell apples through livestreaming sessions. Though she felt nervous and stumbled in her first session, she did not give up and learnt the skills by herself.

"Learning is never just for the young," she said. Every evening when she gets home, Li Xiaoxia reviews her livestream. "Though the journey is challenging, every small improvement makes it all worth it." Now she is more adept at livestreaming, and apple sales are booming. At her peak, she was selling 400 boxes of apples a day, with daily revenue nearing 10,000 yuan.