Peony in bloom: poverty alleviation efforts blossom in Heze city (2)

Taobao mode coming to town

Ren Qingsheng, the first business owner to tap into e-commerce in Dinglou Village, browses the website of his online shop. (Gao Ke/People's Daily Online)

China has seen a boom in the development of rural e-commerce in recent years, with massive expansions of “Taobao Villages” as part of the fight against poverty. Dinglou Village, located in Daiji Township, Caoxian County, was still poor 10 years ago. Benefiting from rapid development of rural e-commerce, it has now become one of the largest Taobao Villages in China, with about $58 million in online sales last year.

Ren Qingsheng was the first business owner to tap into e-commerce in Dinglou Village. In 2010, Ren noticed the potential of online retailing and seized the opportunity it presented. After borrowing 1,400 yuan to buy a computer, Ren started his online sale career by earning 600 yuan in profit from the first deal. That year, he made a total of 7,000 yuan from online sales. He primarily sells costumes for children, which is also the pillar industry in Daiji Township and its surrounding areas. Last year, his sales totaled about $1.2 million with a profit of $300,000.

“The internet has changed our villages as well as the life of villagers in Dinglou. Now, approximately 90% of households in Dinglou are engaged in this industry. In 2016, the whole village was lifted out of poverty. Now, our village, with 330 households, has over 300 private cars,” Ren said, who is now the village chief of Dinglou.

The success of Dinglou has encouraged more people in Heze, especially those in poverty-stricken villages, to jump on the bandwagon and follow its footsteps, with more and more Taobao Villages popping up throughout the city.

The entrance of Dinglou Village. Dinglou Village, located in Daiji Township, Caoxian County, was still poor 10 years ago. Benefiting from rapid development of rural e-commerce, it has now become one of the largest Taobao Villages in China, with about $58 million in online sales last year.

Last year, Heze led the nation in the number of Taobao Villages and Taobao Towns, with 267 and 35 respectively, and the e-commerce turnover reached $45 billion. Since 2017, over 25,000 of those labelled as rural poor in Heze benefited from e-commerce, accounting for 6.3% of the city’s population in poverty.

The thriving e-commerce rejuvenate rural communities; meanwhile, it offers an effective means that enable rural residents to build a better life in their hometowns without having to seek jobs in cities. Since 2014, Dinglou has attracted over 200 young villagers back to their hometown to start up businesses.

“In the past, our villagers had long preferred to seek work elsewhere, leaving behind their elderly and young children as the village’s only permanent population. With the e-commerce blooming, many villagers come back to start their own business and at the same time bring back advanced experiences and knowledge, propelling this industry to further develop,” Ren said.

“Poverty alleviation by e-commerce, unlike some other measures of poverty alleviation, is like ‘blood production’ instead of ‘blood transfusion’, enabling people to have a more dignified life,” said Li Jianmin, assistant secretary general of China Electronic Commerce Association.