Success stories

The success dates back to 2005 when the transformation of the village created an abundance of low-rent rooms. Since then, the population in Qingyanliu has soared from less than 1,500 to over 8,000, due to the big rise in the number of online traders, who rent rooms for the roaring e-commerce industry.

The village also takes full advantage of the abundant commodities in Yiwu, home to the world's largest wholesale market. This tiny village has transformed a lot of ordinary entrepreneurs into wealthy individuals. 

The flourishing e-commerce trade has also changed the lifestyle of locals. Instead of leading a life of leisure and gathering to play mahjong, locals have started their own online stores.

Liu Jian is one example. Liu has stayed at home since he was discharged from the military in 2008. The success stories of some of Liu's millionaire neighbors and friends inspired him. He opened his own online store in the winter of 2009. After eight months, the shop has profited an average of 3,000 yuan ($456) a month.

According to a report released by China E-commerce Research Center, China's online retail sales in 2010 nearly doubled from 2009 to reach 513.1 billion yuan ($78 billion). The boom of online business has been linked to the growing number of Chinese netizens, which reached a total of 457 million at the end of 2010, up 73 million from the year before. Moreover, around one third of them have shopped online.

"Shopping online is becoming a hot trend these days. I will stick to it [online sales], as the e-commerce market delivers more growth potential," said Liu.

Although running their businesses online, the villagers of Qingyanliu benefit from sharing experiences offline, creating a thriving entrepreneurial atmosphere.

The online business boom also helped to promote other supporting industries, such as express services, paper boxes manufacturing, catering, and advertising design.

Liu Wengao introduced an initiative where the local e-commerce association sends representatives to negotiate delivery fees on behalf of all the traders to reduce costs, as there are more than 20 express delivery companies located in the village.