More businesses have begun to sell online via livestreaming in Northeast China, as the traditional model has been undercut by the COVID-19 epidemic.

About 3,000 shop owners in Xiliu town in Anshan, Liaoning province — the largest clothing wholesale center in the region — sell clothes on different livestream platforms every day.

"I can receive more than 10,000 orders daily and the revenues of hundreds of thousands of yuan," said Zhao Zhen, 29, owner of a shop that sells women's clothes.

His livestream account has attracted more than 700,000 followers and he has provided around two dozen jobs for local youths.

A report released by mobile social app Momo said the provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning were the top three for livestreaming last year.

"Online broadcasting features decentralization, creative innovation and self-growth, which are in line with the underlying logic of the network era," said Li Gang, deputy president of Shenyang City University. "The new way can help change some people's minds in the region — including the notion that production is more important than marketing and service."

Yang Zhian, an official of Liaoning provincial government, said, "Whether the livestreams can provide a strong driving force for the nation's economic development in the future depends on its innovation. For the northeast region, government departments should seize on the opportunity for industrial reform and strengthen support for new forms of business, such as livestreaming, to provide better service for consumers."