Multilingual platforms aid sales of poverty alleviation products in Sanya

The city of Sanya in Hainan province hosted a special rural products bazaar on July 21 to promote local agricultural products, as well as help poor families move out of poverty through tourism. 

More than 50 local specialties were put on display at the fair, with their names being written in three languages, Chinese, English, and Russian, to help overseas tourists learn more about Sanya's rural products. Volunteers capable of speaking foreign languages were also invited to assist foreigners who were in need of help. Special interpretation machines were also offered to facilitate communication between tourists and locals.

Popular specialties not only included the pheasants, local geese and ducks, coconuts, longans, as well as other special fruits brought by the farmers in poverty-stricken villages such as Baoan, Baolong, Baoqian, and Nahui, but processed food such as preserved chickensand roasted piglets offered by local supply and market cooperatives and other agricultural product companies were also available for tourists.

"The event is very meaningful," said a Russian tourist who was spending a holiday with her family in Dadonghai of Sanya. She said she first noticed the fair on her way to the beach and found that it was a fair to help low-income families through a poster written in Russian. She bought some tropical fruits such as longans and rambutans on the spot.

The two agricultural tourism theme parks of Sanya, the Sanya Paddy Field National Park and the Yalongwan International Rose Valley, provided 1,000 and 400 free tickets respectively for visitors at the fair.

The organizers took the initiative to provide free space and service guarantees for the sales representatives of the poverty alleviation villages. They also coordinated with them to offer the best prices for tourists. According to insiders, 90 percent of the goods on sale at the fair were cheaper than the average market price.