On October 14th in Hangzhou, during a live stream, the host known as “Sister Qiqi” engaged the audience with rapid hand gestures while meticulously matching her lip movements to describe the products being showcased. In the background, her assistant held up a sign with product details in one hand and used sign language to support her presentation. The atmosphere in Sister Qiqi’s live streaming space was both busy and quiet, devoid of loud background music or scripted banter.
As of 2023, there are over 20 million people in China with hearing impairments, with different regions using various sign languages. Even when describing the same product, hearing-impaired hosts often have to demonstrate a range of gestures multiple times to convey the information accurately.
“This has become much easier than before,” Sister Qiqi commented, reflecting on her third year in the live commerce industry. She started as a novice, generating sales of only 1,000 yuan (approximately $140) per session, and has now surpassed sales of 500,000 yuan. More importantly, she has managed to support her entire hearing-impaired team through her live streams.
The company she works for, Yule Cultural Media in Hangzhou, employs a workforce that is 80% comprised of hearing-impaired individuals, covering positions from hosts and assistants to on-site managers.
“My sister and brother-in-law are hearing-impaired. Over the years, I’ve witnessed their struggles in finding work and leading a normal life,” said Lou Cheng, CEO of Yule. He emphasized that building a live streaming team of hearing-impaired individuals creates a more relaxed work environment and enhances the shopping experience for hearing-impaired consumers.
One of the challenges Yule faces is convincing hearing-impaired individuals that they can thrive in the live commerce sector. The same skepticism also comes from product suppliers.
“We start with the basics, like introducing product ingredients, providing live streaming training, and ensuring sample quality checks. It takes us two weeks to prepare for a live stream. We prefer to lower our profit margins and reduce the number of streams to ensure quality,” Lou explained. “I want the market to embrace this community.”
The numbers speak for themselves: hearing-impaired hosts have shown higher conversion rates and lower return rates compared to their traditional counterparts.
The employment of hearing-impaired individuals has spurred local public services to become more accessible. In 2023, the first “Voluntary Delivery Service Point” for delivery personnel was established in Linping District of Hangzhou, prioritizing delivery for Yule’s hearing-impaired employees and providing dedicated services.
Zhang Bin, head of the online monitoring division for the district’s market supervision administration, noted that the volunteer service point has already provided personalized delivery services to over 1,000 hearing-impaired individuals in just six months.
In addition to live commerce, short films are also emerging as a new employment avenue for hearing-impaired individuals in Zhejiang. Recently, China’s first sign language period drama featuring hearing-impaired actors was filmed in Hengdian World Studios. With no intense conflicts or heated dialogues, more than 30 hearing-impaired actors brought the silent set to life.
The producer of the drama, Ge Liyang, explained that while many audiovisual programs are equipped with subtitles, some hearing-impaired individuals have limited educational backgrounds and may struggle to fully comprehend these subtitles. Thus, there is a growing need for authentic sign language films to meet their entertainment needs.
“I hope my efforts can help more hearing-impaired individuals see their dreams and possibilities, and I also wish that through these sign language films, people can understand and respect the hearing-impaired community better,” said the lead actor, Liu Xiaoyuan, using sign language to convey her message.
