Livestreaming celebrities promote specialties of Yangquan city during a TikTok livestreaming event in Yangquan city, May 4. [Photo/yqnews.com.cn]

Yangquan city in North China's Shanxi province held a livestreaming event on TikTok, a popular online livestreaming and video sharing platform, on May 4 to promote sales of local specialties.  

Sponsored by the city's government and organized by Yangquan culture and tourism bureau and Yangquan Radio and Television Station, the 10-hour livestreaming event was attended by local government officials, TV hosts, some 20 specialty production companies, and livestreaming and online celebrities who took turns to introduce and promote special cultural and tourism products in Yangquan to help local companies resume operations and production and boost economic recovery during the coronavirus epidemic period.  

Lei Jiankun (center), mayor of Yangquan city, promotes Yangquan specialties during the livestreaming event in Yangquan city, May 4. [Photo/Yangquan Daily]

To help rural revitalization and expand rural tourism consumption, the event also promoted rural tourism resources with different features as well as leisure programs such as picking, farming, entertainment and rural homestays in Zuizishang, Dawa, and Shangqianmuping villages. 

Through media spread of big data and livestreaming, the event received strong market response, with video views on TikTok reaching 9.58 million times by 8 pm on May 4, and selling more than 5,000 products worth 269,000 yuan ($37,950).

Taking the TikTok livestreaming event as a starting point, Yangquan culture and tourism bureau will next carry out more promotions, expand market channels and establish promotion platforms to help the recovery of the city's culture and tourism sectors after the epidemic and upgrade the culture and tourism industries.