Ruili City in southwest China’s Yunnan Province is famous for its jade industry and borders Myanmar, a major jade producing country.

Walking through the streets and lanes of downtown Ruili, one is quickly taken in by the markets and stores offering jade processing, carving and sales that dot the city.

Every day, thousands of tourists buy exquisite pieces, while wholesalers buy in order to sell the striking jadeware to the rest of the country.

With the rapid development of IT, Ruili’s jade industry has gained new wings with the use of Internet Plus.

At around 10:00 o’clock at night, the Jiegao Jade market is ablaze with lights and crowded with thousands of people—including a barrage of anchors of Internet broadcasts on live-streaming platforms.

They connect customers and retailers via their broadcasts, introducing products to customers through real-time interaction, brokering deals and earning a commission.

“The jade industry is a pillar industry in Ruili and features local characteristics. At our Jiegao Jade market, for example, there are more than 2,000 jade stores, with about 300 of them operated by Myanmar merchants,” Zhang Kui, Manager of administrative affairs of Jiegao Jade Market.

“Since 2016, on-line sales via Internet broadcasts have become more and more popular. Sometimes, more than 10,000 people participate in Internet broadcasts per day in our market. The volume of transactions in the market via Internet broadcasts is over 300 million yuan ($43.8 million) per month, much higher than field sales,” Zhang added.

Currently, almost all major live-streaming platforms are operating in Ruili, including Taobao, YY and Kuaishou.

New technologies have injected unprecedented vitality into the development of Ruili’s jade industry.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo 

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