Guzhen Agricultural Product E-Commerce Development

Despite the widespread adoption of e-commerce in both urban and rural areas of China since the 2000s, over ten thousand families in Guzhen County in Anhui Province were classified as economically impoverished. The key challenges identified included insufficient physical and digital infrastructure, lengthy government approval procedures, and a shortage of digital service education. This chapter examines how the agricultural food station application program Nongliang Yizhan encouraged villagers to start businesses and expand their sales network via e-commerce, with the support of the government and universities. The businesses and their logistics were further enabled by the development of physical infrastructure in the region. The successful model has been replicated in other villages and towns with further development, which is detailed in this chapter focusing on its core principles: “Internet+”, platform for quality control, and big data utilization.