Revolutionary village in East China becomes e-commerce hub

A stone tablet with seven Chinese characters shows some soldiers starting their Long March (1934-1936) at Zhongfu village in Changting county, Longyan city, East China's Fujian province,?in this?Oct 19, 2014 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]

A village in East China has turned from one that used to supply goods to revolutionary forces during war times to one that sells local farm produce online.

On Sept 30, 1934, thousands of Red Army soldiers and their officers began the Long March (1934-1936) at Zhongfu village, Changting county in Longyan city, East China's Fujian province.

During their journey, villagers at Zhongfu village provided goods and materials to help the Red Army soldiers complete the Long March and meet with other comrade-in-arms at Huining county, Southwest China's Gansu province.

Nowadays, following the trend of internet and e-commerce, locals at the revolutionary village have opened nearly 50 online outlets.

Selling the farm produce online not only broadens the market, but also avoids low selling prices, which helps increase the villagers' income. What's more, the booming e-commerce attracts local migrant workers to return home and establish their own businesses, Zhong Changyang, head of Zhongfu village, told Xinhua.

An online shop owned by villager Luo Tianling earned nearly 10 million yuan ($1.5 million), making her the sales champion in the village.

Besides, the profit margin of the online trading is higher than that of the offline trading. For example, after careful selections and packages, unit price of the passion fruits sold online is at least 20 percent higher than that of the passion fruits sold offline.

In 2015, Luo not only sold all the passion fruits planted at her family's farm, covering more than 200 mu (13.3 hectares), but also purchased the fruits grown in nearby villages and sold them nationwide online.

Besides Luo, migrant worker Xiang Lihua opened her online taobao shop selling home-made chilli sauce and ginger candy after returning home in May 2015. The online shop helped her earn a net income of more than 100,000 yuan ($15,045), which was more than twice her salary as a migrant worker.

"People who come to visit our revolutionary village will purchase local farm produce through our online shops after returning to their home. My online shop receives orders every day," Luo said to Xinhua.

Local government has also taken measures to encourage more villagers to take part in the e-commerce trend.

A local government official told Xinhua that villagers who open taobao shops do not need to pay rents for three years and are provided training free of cost. Local government not only installs network and power facilities for them without charging any fees, but also will reward the ones who show best sales report.

At present, with passion fruits and ginger candy as pivotal industries, these taobao shops at Zhongfu village have become the largest internet business incubator in the rural area of Changting county.