A street that's paved with gold

More than 600 attendees of the training sessions have already started to sell local agricultural produce online. Kanyat Kaypjan, a 50-year-old farmer from Kamistibulak village in Tekes county is among them.

Kaypjan started learning how to use a computer during off-peak season five years ago. After he was informed that the county's rural e-commerce public service center would reach out to his village and launch training sessions for the residents, he was the first one to sign up for the training.

As soon as he was equipped with the necessary e-commerce skills, he opened an online store on the Weidian e-commerce platform last year to help local farmers and herders to sell chicken, mutton, beef, eggs and other agricultural produce. Meanwhile, he has also been helping his fellow villagers to purchase goods from online shopping platforms, such as Taobao, JD and Tmall, as well as to pay their phone or electric bills online, or book bus tickets or hotels online.

Kamistibulak village has a population of more than 1,100, comprised of various ethnic groups including Kazak, Mongolian, Hui and Han. They mainly make a living through animal husbandry.

"In the old days, local herdsmen used to ride more than 20 km by motorbike to get to market in the downtown area of Tekes to buy groceries or sell livestock－even in the cold of winter," Kaypjan recalls.

"Now I can help them to shop more efficiently online, and I also want to use my e-commerce knowledge to promote the local specialties of Kamistibulak," he says, adding that he can earn, on average, 150 yuan (around $23.6) from the business each day.

Contact the writer at xingwen@chinadaily.com.cn