Members of Qixiannü chat on Fengyu Bridge, a unique piece of Dong ethnic group architecture. (Photo: GT)

When people think of poverty alleviation efforts, the words farming, animal husbandry, or migrant workers will probably come to mind. 

Now, a post-1980s village official has come up with a modern way to help fight poverty by exploiting online resources. 

Wu Yusheng, a poverty alleviation official in Gaibao village, Liping county, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, helps to fight poverty with his Qixiannü (Seven Fairies) team through livestreaming and shooting short videos about the cuisine, life and culture of the Dong ethnic group. 

Wu started his poverty alleviation work in February 2018. After unsuccessful attempts in traditional businesses including farming and animal husbandry in his first month, the 31-year-old official noticed the emergence of short video apps and decided to make use of the trend.

At the beginning, with no experience in video shooting or management, Wu took the initiative to learn from photographers in the county and online. 

The team's name Qixiannü is taken from an old Dong legend. "There is a Dong-style song in Gaibao village, which was brought to the Dong women by seven fairies and carried forward until today," Wu said. 

The legend inspired Wu. In his eyes, the women in the Dong villages could become real-life fairies to promote Dong culture as a brand image and help villagers sell local products on video apps. 

However, trying to get women to join his project turned out to be more difficult than he expected. 

"Villagers were conservative-minded actually," Wu said, "They told me I wasn't doing a proper business.'"

Wu Mengxia, now one of the members of Qixiannü, was discovered by Wu Yusheng when she was livestreaming on Kuaishou. "She thought I was a scammer. I invited her twice, but she never responded," Wu Yusheng said. 

Due to conservative thinking, nobody believed that web hosting was a decent job. "Nobody was convinced the first time," Wu said.

The situation improved when Wu Lanxin, who was then working in an art troupe in Liping county's Zhaoxing township, joined the team. 

"I decided to join Qixiannü without hesitation when Mr Wu invited me, since I'm also fond of shooting videos through short video apps," Wu Lanxin said. After Qixiannü published several videos about Dong culture and started gathering followers, Wu Mengxia and five other women were persuaded to join the team.

Wu Yusheng and his team have published 286 video clips on short video platform Kuaishou, amassing 150,000 followers so far. Their fame has brought them business opportunities to help other villagers sell their local products online, such as Dong clothing, home-made food, and tea to their followers, and the whole village is gradually pulling itself out of poverty.

Wu and his team can now say they have achieved success. Gaibao village has removed the label of poverty, keeping the total number of low income families in the village below 3 percent, in line with the national standard. As for the Qixiannü members themselves, their monthly income has increased from 1,500 yuan ($223) to 5,000 yuan. 

"We hope more people will know about Guizhou as well as Dong culture through our efforts," Wu Lanxin said.

Wu Yusheng's success has also stoked villagers' desire to go into business for themselves.

 "Villagers have freed their minds and realized it is necessary to keep up with the times in order to alleviate poverty," Wu said.

Now, Wu is preparing to establish a "wanghong (internet celebrity) college" in Liping, and plans to train web hosts in the county.

"There are over 400 villages in Liping county, and all of them can duplicate the methods Gaibao village used to alleviate poverty," Wu said. 

"I hope more grassroots wanghong in Liping will spring up, like the Qixiannü, promoting our culture and local products to fight poverty," he said.