New professions in countryside | A photographer promotes his hometown by videos

“First fry cured meat in heated oil, and boil them with mushrooms for fifteen minutes. At the end, we need to spread some fresh green onions on top.” These words come from one of short videos that Xiang Qingbiao created to promote local cuisine.

In 2018, Xiang Qingbiao quitted his job in Shanghai, and came back to Guzhang, his hometown, to create media content promoting local culture. His professional photography skill polishes farmers’ produces. He also organizes livestream broadcasts of cooking lessons.

Xiang Qingbiao learned photography in spare times of his college years. After graduation, he worked at the car industry in Shanghai. But the passion for photography persists. Thus, he decided to quit his job and started his own business. At first, he distributed contents in WeChat. However, since they are only able to disseminate locally, these accounts did not gain much popularity in the internet.

Later, he found that idyllic themed videos are popular in short video platforms. He reorganized his team and shifted direction. This move has brought him success. One of short video accounts that his team operates focus on instructing people to cook local cuisines. In five months, it has gained a half million followers.

Regarding to the future development, Xiang Qiangbiao tells us that he thinks his contents will continue to promote his hometown in three aspects, folkways, local cuisines and natural sceneries.