Sales at Spring Festival shopping gala hit 1 million yuan

Consumers purchase delicacies in Qingshuhe county during the 2nd Qingshuihe County Shopping Gala for Spring Festival, which was held from Dec 28 to Jan 2 in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo/saibeinews.com]

Sales from the 2nd Qingshuihe County Shopping Gala for Spring Festival, held from Dec 28 to Jan 2 at Inner Mongolia International Convention and Exhibition Center in Hohhot, totaled 1.09 million yuan ($169,135).

With a theme of "Targeted Poverty Alleviation", the shopping gala attracted more than 60 companies, merchants and farmers to sell local agricultural products and delicacies. 

Known as the "Hometown of Coarse Cereals", Qingshuihe county's jasmine rice, red millet beans and other agricultural products proved popular among consumers during the gala.

"There are various kinds of agricultural products on sale here. Most importantly, they are all free from pesticides," said Lan Xiumei, a resident of the city.

Specialties like noodles made with pea flour, rice vinegar, and pork were also available during the gala.

Chen Xiang, a farmer from Shilantai village in the county, makes a living by planting peas. 

It is the first time he has sold his products in the downtown area.

"I planted nearly 30 mus (2 hectares) of peas, but they didn't sell well. Such a shopping gala is a good platform for farmers like me to expand sales," said Chen.

Zhang Jialin, was also a beneficiary of the shopping gala. During the gala, he sold more than 3,000 chickens.

He said that the shopping gala is creating a new sales model that will earn more profits for them. 

Some farmers even established their own WeChat account to reach more potential customers, as the products are available to buy through the social media platform.  

Encouraging farmers to sell their products at the shopping gala is part of a new initiative by the local government to alleviate poverty.

"Shopping galas and exhibitions will help farmers to become more commercially-minded when promoting their products," said Yun Linqiong, the secretary of the Party committee of Qingshuihe county.

For farmers on low incomes who didn't come to the gala, officials from Qingshuihe county set up a dedicated booth to sell their pork for them. 

"Due to poor transport links, these farmers can't sell their products in the city," said Liu Yang, the first secretary of Yangwanzi village in Qingshuihe county –– adding that all the sales income will be sent to these farmers.

According to the data, a total of 5,450 kilograms of pork was sold during the shopping gala, with estimated sales of 109,000 yuan.