Lights, camera, tractors!

Playing up sales

In Beiliangjia, a village of just 247 households in the Qingdao West Coast New Area, farmers with no acting experience are using their phones to make short dramas that have racked up over 1 billion views.

Before they changed tack, they struggled to sell their produce.

"The village is not short of good produce. We grow sweet chestnuts, sticky sweet potatoes and big juicy cherries," said Zhang Wei, the village Party secretary. "The problem has always been selling them."

In the summer of 2025, Zhang reached out to Ding Zhaoting, an influencer from a neighboring town. Ding had previously run a building materials business before pivoting to online content creation six years ago. He now manages several accounts with millions of followers.

Zhang said the villagers agreed to use short dramas to sell their produce. Ding became the director and recruited about a dozen villagers.

He taught them the basics of filming, editing, and livestreaming. The villagers threw themselves into the new challenge.

In September 2025, the village's first short drama was released. It told the story of a rural woman who joins a poor family and, through hard work and wisdom, gradually leads them to a happy life. In just over a month, the series had garnered 270 million views.

The momentum built. Subsequent dramas each attracted over 100 million views.

In the dramas, village produce is a feature, with corn hanging on walls, chestnuts piled by stoves, and unpicked cherries glistening with dew. Viewers see these products in attractive settings and want to buy them.

Zhang Zhixing, 75, was among the first to benefit. He had three mu (0.2 hectares) of hawthorn trees. But at his age, he could no longer harvest the fruit, and they were rotting on the branches.

A few cast members heard about his situation, went to his orchard, and filmed videos and livestreams. Within days, his hawthorns were sold out.

The online traffic also caught the attention of investors. Local Ding Xinqiang stumbled upon the village's short dramas online. "The people and the stories are so real and trustworthy," he said.

He contacted Zhang Wei and said he wanted to invest in the area. Within a week, a sweet potato starch noodle processing plant was up and running, receiving an initial order of 25 metric tons. More projects followed, including dried sweet potato snacks, pet food, and cultural tourism.

Yu Xiaofeng, an associate professor at Shandong University's journalism and communication school, who has studied the phenomenon, sees it as part of a broader trend.

"In the context of the rise of new mass culture, farmers have become creators. They are telling their own stories," Yu said.

"The entire creative process is intimately connected to their lives, which gives them a tremendous sense of pride. This is the core manifestation of farmer identity, and the best expression of cultural confidence," she said.

Yu visited villages and observed the transformation firsthand.

"When I first saw the villagers, they were nervous and shy in front of the camera. But then, seeing all the likes they received online and the growing number of visitors coming to their village, they became confident and outgoing. They actively participate in village construction, voluntarily shoot short videos to promote their hometown, and take pride in its natural beauty and intangible cultural heritage. Their cultural identity is growing stronger," she said.