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, 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 (85,333.3 hectares) which annually produces 2.2 billion kilograms of apples with an annual output value of more than 16 billion yuan ($2.25 billion).

The brand value of Qixia apples is currently 6.2 billion and is ranked third in the National Apple Regional Public Brand List.

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.

Local officials promote Qixia apples via online broadcast on Xuexi Qiangguo app. [Photo/ytcutv.com]

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

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

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