Netizens crowdfund vegetables for city in need amid epidemic

Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-11 12:58:58|Editor: huaxia

GUIYANG, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 100 Internet users in southwest China's Guizhou Province crowdfunded 26 tonnes of vegetables to be sent to a city hit by the novel coronavirus epidemic in Hubei Province.

A truck fully loaded with vegetables departed Guizhou's Zunyi city late Sunday afternoon and arrived in Hubei's Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in the early hours of Monday.

The vegetables were unloaded and sent to hospitals and communities by Monday afternoon, according to the local epidemic prevention and control headquarters.

Li Jiancheng, the initiator and a stage actor, saw a Tik Tok short video describing how a local vegetable grower wished to donate vegetables harvested from his own field. Soon after Li reposted the video, many friends reached out to him, wanting to donate money or help with transportation.

"Many WeChat friends wired money directly to me. I collected 30,000 yuan (about 4,300 U.S. dollars) in just a few hours and stopped accepting donations," Li said.

The vegetables were either donated or bought at half price from local growers. The local government opened a green channel after volunteers loaded the truck. The whole operation was completed within two days.

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