The ninth Hai'an Rural Tourism Festival and the 12th Dagong pear flower festival opened to great fanfare on March 31 in Dagong town – located in Hai'an, a county-level city administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province.

Every year, the pear flower festival is said to help drive local economic development and increase the incomes of farmers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the event found a new path. People were instead able to experience the beauty of the town up close through livestreaming.

Over 10,000 visitors were attracted to watch in the first 10 minutes after the livestreaming began.

The pear blossoms in Dagong town are in glorious full bloom now, attracting hordes of online visitors through livestreaming. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

This year, the pear flower festival included a special display of rural revitalization fruit, a livestreaming of blooming flowers, a presentation about agricultural specialties and an exhibition of children's calligraphy work and paintings.

Tasty morsels containing pears are presented to viewers through livestreaming. [Photo/ntfabu.com]

The online festival invited online guests and many viewers, attracted by the pears in the livestreaming, placed orders.

Dagong town currently has 667 hectares of pears under cultivation, with many varieties enjoying a high reputation.

Jin Shancun, Party secretary of the town, said that the pear flower festival had clearly driven the development of rural tourism – adding that the development of leisure agriculture, ecotourism and the wellness sectors had become important ways to lead locals to prosperity.