Members of the Yuezhai Aunties Group showcase passion fruit (COURTESY)  

In 2022, Zhang Aizhen and six “auntie” colleagues embarked on a mission that would eventually change their lives. Dressed in the striking indigo traditional Dong ethnic clothing, they faced a camera with apprehensive excitement about what was to come, and their livestreaming life began.  

Coming from Yuezhai Village in Rongjiang County, one of the last areas in China to shake off poverty, these Dong ethnic women hoped to sell their homegrown produce through livestreaming. 

As the camera rolled, they greeted viewers awkwardly: “Hello… have you had dinner yet?” None of them knew what format a successful livestream was supposed to take, but they dived in bravely anyway. After three years of trial and error, their livestreaming efforts generated over 1 million yuan ($147,000) in sales in 2025, providing a vital income boost for many villagers and helping to build a more proactive group of women. 

Cheerleaders from Yuezhai Village march at the opening ceremony of a Village Super League tournament in Rongjiang County, Guizhou Province, on 13 May 2023 (COURTESY) 

New opportunities  

In 2021, Zhang decided to get involved in livestreaming after hearing the local government’s call for turning smartphones into new farm tools, data into new farming supplies, and livestreaming into a new form of farm labour. To Zhang, livestreaming was not simply entertainment. She saw it as a new opportunity for rural women to promote their hometown and earn an income without leaving the village. 

She initially recruited over 30 women, most of whom were middle-aged farmers and housewives with no livestreaming experience. The learning curve was steep. “It all sounded completely unfamiliar to me,” Zhang said, struggling to grasp technical concepts like traffic algorithms and equipment names. Following an expert’s advice, they pivoted from hard-selling to storytelling, singing Dong songs, and sharing the daily rhythms of village life. 

By day, the aunties laboured in the fields; by night, they honed their livestreaming skills. For almost three years, they spent hours talking to empty livestream rooms, sometimes feeling as if they were speaking to themselves. Added stress came from caring for children while livestreaming. In 2025, when morale was at its lowest, Zhang asked the group to persevere for six more months. “If we still can’t turn the tide after that,” she told them, “I won’t waste your time anymore.” 

In April 2025, the team began promoting their homegrown cucumbers and cherry tomatoes online. But after hours of livestreaming, they often received only a handful of orders, mostly from longtime viewers who simply wanted to encourage them. 

Still, Zhang refused to give up. After learning that Dong Lu, a famous Chinese football commentator and livestreamer, had been named honorary head of Yuezhai Village, she summoned the courage to leave him a message online. 

“I want to sell my homegrown fruit and vegetables through livestreaming,” she wrote, “but I don’t know how. Can you teach me?” Zhang didn’t expect a reply. 

But on 26 August 2025, while the women were livestreaming as usual, Dong joined their livestream room and began promoting their products. Within minutes, orders started flooding in. The women stared at the screen in disbelief as the sales figures soared. 

That night alone, their sales topped 2,700 orders of passion fruit, something that had never before been achieved in the village. From August to October that year, they then helped more than 100 local growers to sell their passion fruit online. After years of setbacks and persistence, their efforts had finally paid off. 

Members of the Yuezhai Aunties Group promote passion fruit through livestreaming (COURTESY)  

More than livestreamers  

In 2023, Rongjiang County’s Village Super League, a viral, grassroots soccer tournament, better known nationwide as Cun Chao, turned this once little-known county into a national sensation. Inspired by a video of an elderly man from the neighbouring village cheering for his football team, Zhang came up with an idea: bringing homemade food and homegrown vegetables to the football field to support Yuezhai Village’s soccer team and entertain visiting fans. 

Wearing traditional Dong clothing, Zhang led her group of aunties and other women from Yuezhai Village to carry wooden trays filled with traditional Dong dishes, like sticky rice and pickled fish, as well as their homegrown cucumbers, tomatoes and watermelons to share with visitors.  

During halftime, Zhang encouraged the women to dance despite having had no rehearsal. As music sounded, they casually danced the square dances they usually practised in the village, instantly energising the crowd. Videos of the aunties cheering, dancing and serving food spread rapidly across social media, and netizens affectionately called them the Yuezhai Aunties Group. 

What started as spontaneous cheering at football matches gradually gave the women a new sense of confidence and responsibility. As the Yuezhai Aunties Group became increasingly popular during the Village Super League, the women also became more deeply involved in village affairs. Whether welcoming visitors, organising performances or helping to coordinate activities, they were no longer simply farmers appearing online occasionally. They had become one of the most active community groups in Yuezhai Village. 

Their resilience was truly tested on 24 June 2025, when devastating floods struck the county. Zhang was one of the first people to step forward. At 6 a.m. the next morning, she gathered members of the Yuezhai Aunties Group and asked them to harvest vegetables from their own fields. Within a single day, the women made more than 1,000 boxed meals for rescue workers and flood victims. Over the following weeks, the women remained constantly involved in the disaster relief efforts. 

The group’s actions deeply moved rescuers who had travelled from across China to help Rongjiang. According to Zhang, some rescue workers later told her that during previous disaster missions, they often survived on instant noodles and dry food, but in Rongjiang, they received hot homemade meals prepared by local people. 

When the floods had subsided and life gradually returned to normal, Rongjiang invited rescue teams back for a thanksgiving event. At the event, several teams specifically asked to return to Yuezhai Village. Some even arrived carrying banners reading, “Yuezhai Aunties Group, we came back as promised.” Rescue teams later sent handwritten letters to thank the women, while many stayed connected through an online chat group named “One Loving Family.” 

In the Dong culture, Sama, the Great Grandmother, is revered as a guardian figure who watches over the community. That ancient spirit lives on in Zhang and the Yuezhai Aunties Group. Whether in the muddy fields, the bustling football stadium, or the digital glow of a livestream, they have become a beacon of care, resilience and devotion.