Jun 4, 2020|

In the Wake of Shipping 5 Tons of Rice for 4000KM: JD Farm and Xinjiang Agriculture

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by Ling Cao

Rukeyamu (Chinese: 如克亚木·麦提赛地), who is the great-granddaughter of Kurban Tulum(1883-1975) who was a legendary uygur,  visited JD headquarters in Beijing early this week.

Rukeyamu highlighted JD’s efforts in helping them transport five tons of rice they donated from Alaer, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, to a hospital in Wuhan in time during the virus two months ago. At that time, Rukeyamu and the Kurban Fund faced many logistics challenges. They tried commissioning a cargo flight or using their own truck, but all attempts failed in the complex situation.

Finally, they noticed a donation project on People’s Daily website and immediately contacted them about transportation. JD Logistics was connected to them and quickly deployed five trucks along the 4,000 km relay across Alaer, Aksu Prefecture and Urumqi in Xinjiang, Xi’an and Zhengzhou, before reaching Wuhan, the final destination.

“JD helped us transport the rice day and night, and it reached the hospital in Wuhan two days earlier than expected. The team’s passion and spirit impressed us.” Rukeyamu showed her appreciation to JD onsite.  “I, on behalf of the Kurban family, want to say thank you to JD,” she added.

While Rukeyamu was visiting JD, both sides discussed further potential cooperation opportunities in retail, logistics, agriculture and technology-driven poverty alleviation. The rice donated is Xinjiang’s local specialty called Suet Rice, which is famous for its rich outside appearance and delicious taste.  Since late last year, JD Farm has started to cooperate with the Kurban team on the special rice they produce with the aim of producing even higher-quality rice for customers, leveraging JD’s expertise in big data, AI and blockchain, as well as e-commerce.

“JD Farm is leveraging its capabilities in technology and e-commerce experience to help the traditional agriculture industry become smarter and more digitalized, and aims to help our partners in Xinjiang produce higher quality products,” said Zhiwei Qiao, head of JD Farm, when talking with Rukeyamu.

“We are hoping to work with JD on a long-term cooperation. JD is well-known for its expertise in e-commerce, logistics and technology, as well as customers’ trust,” said Wei Jiang, Executive Director of Kurban Fund, who expressed willingness to cooperate with JD further.

The popular Uncle Kurban had met Mao Zedong four times. Kurban himself and his great-granddaughter Rukeyamu both elected as deputy to the National People’s Congress.

 

(ling.cao@jd.com)

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