DONGXIANG -- Zhang Zhongshan, a deputy to the National People's Congress, is the head of a planting and breeding cooperative in Dongxiang autonomous county.

Zhang, 31, grew up in one of the county's mountainous areas. Herding sheep had been a daily routine of Zhang after school. After graduating from a vocational school in 2013, Zhang left his hometown for work, where he gained experience and knowledge in e-commerce. In 2018, encouraged by government policies that supported rural entrepreneurship, Zhang returned to Dongxiang and founded the cooperative, focusing on the breeding, sales, and promotion of local agricultural products, including Dongxiang sheep.

Dongxiang is known for the sheep variety which produces high-quality mutton. In recent years, Zhang's cooperative has modernized traditional sheep farming by building standard sheepfolds, introducing modern breeding equipments, and implementing precise segmentation and packaging of the sheep's various parts to meet market demands. The cooperative has also promoted Dongxiang sheep products through livestreaming. Currently, Zhang's cooperative raises over 2,600 sheep, which helped boost the incomes of more than 500 local households.

Throughout his tenure as an NPC deputy, Zhang has familiarized himself with the details of the local agricultural sector and established active connections with the market. Through e-commerce platforms and livestreaming, he has expanded local sales channels, bridging the last mile for local agricultural specialties. Zhang believes that the rise of "new farmers" aligns perfectly with the new opportunities in agriculture and the pursuit of rural revitalization, offering a promising future for young people to invest in agriculture.