Apples produced in Qixia of Yantai, Shandong province. [Photo by Ren Mengxue/for chinadaily.com.cn]

An online sale event to promote Qixia apples, a specialty of Yantai, Shandong province, was launched on the Xuexi Qiangguo app on May 12.

Qixia apples are known for their bright skin and sweetness, both of which are due to the favorable geographic conditions in the city.

At the Boshida Organic Apple Demonstration Base in Guanli town of Qixia, local officials tried promoting apples and organic apple chips for the first time during the broadcast.

More than 5,000 orders were received during the livestream.

Qixia apples are known for their bright skin and sweetness. [Photo by Qi Xuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Qixia, a county-level city in Yantai, is famed for its high-quality apples in China. The city is home to an apple planting zone measuring 1.28 million mu (85,333 hectares) which annually produces 2.2 billion kilograms of apples with an annual output value of more than 16 billion yuan ($2.25 billion).

Xuexi Qiangguo is a widely-used mobile app run by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. The online sales event is aimed at helping boost the development of farms. The event is expected to help farmers sell more than 50,000 kilograms of apples.

Harvest season for apples in Yantai, Shandong province. [Photo by Gong Xiaochen/for chinadaily.com.cn]

 Farmers enjoy the harvest of apples in Yantai, Shandong province. [Photo by Ren Mengxue/for chinadaily.com.cn] 

A child presents ripe apples at an orchard in Yantai, Shandong province. [Photo by Qi Xuan/for chinadaily.com.cn] 

Farmers enjoy the harvest of apples in Yantai, Shandong province. [Photo by Li Hua/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Qixia, a county-level city in Yantai, is famed for its high-quality apples in China. [Photo by Qi Xuan/for chinadaily.com.cn]