Livestream a new way to help the poor

A 20-year-old woman from Tianzhu county in Guizhou province has become an internet celebrity after failing the college entrance examination in June last year.

Yuan Guihua, with few qualities commonly believed necessary for success, started a channel connecting her remote Leizhai village to the outside world via the internet. She posted items about daily life on Kuaishou, a popular Chinese app for streaming and short videos, and got more than 3 million fans.

Born into an impoverished family, Yuan has an older sister who suffered from polio and an older brother in poor health. The rural family had long been struggling to make ends meet.