2017年CRI E-commerce facilitates transformation of poverty-stricken village

 

A female worker is working on a colorful fan to be sold via retail¹ website Taobao.com [Photo: China Plus]

Chinese e-commerce is seen as little short of a miracle, with billions of transactions made every day across the country.

Recently there's been a big push to spread its benefits beyond urban areas into some of China's more remote villages, as a key plank² in the strategy of lifting China's rural poor out of poverty.

As CRI's Huang Shan reports, one village in Henan province has been transformed by accessing new markets online, thanks to the government's 'Internet Plus' strategy.

Shehuo is a traditional folk entertainment activity performed during Chinese festivals. By worshipping the earth, it's hoped good harvests and fortune will follow.

And in Huozhuang Village of central China's Henan Province, the skills of making Shehuo props³ have a history spanning hundreds of years.

Nearly 80 percent of the residents are engaged in the processing and production of Shehuo props in some way.

The Chief of the village is Huo Junzheng.

"Our village has thousands of products, and our handicraft industry has hundreds of years of history. You can find our products in Southeast Asia, Europe, the United States, and in all parts of China. The Shehuo industry is environmentally friendly. It can also create jobs for the surplus agricultural work force. So the government is very supportive. "

He recalls that five years ago, the Shehuo business in the village was still run along traditional lines. Villagers produced the props in small workshops, and then had to find a market for the things they made themselves. It was tough to make a profit.

The development of e-commerce, spurred on by the government's "Internet Plus" strategy has revolutionized the way the craftsmen⁴ work and sell.

"Internet Plus" encourages conventional businesses to use the internet and other information technology, such as mobile Internet, cloud computing⁵, big data or the Internet of Things, to help them develop and grow.

One villager, Yao Hongyu, has been engaged in the Shehuo business for over 30 years.

"From 2012, we started selling products online. The internet brought a huge change for us, because in the past we're just a small workshop, but now it's mass production. The amount of sales has been doubled, and our products now can be sold all over the country, and even abroad."

Now nearly every household in the village has opened an online shop on Taobao.com. With a simple click of the mouse, their Shehuo props can be sold to every part of the world.

With an annual output value of over 100 million yuan, Huozhuang Village is now listed as one of the "Taobao Villages" in China where over 10 percent of households run online stores and village e-commerce revenues exceed 10 million yuan per year.

Another villager, Zhao Hongyan, says boosting e-commerce also encourages more farmers to return home after working away.

"In the past, my family was so poor, so all the family members left the area in search of work. Four years ago, the head of the village showed me how to open a shop online to make more money. Once the business was on its feet, I asked my husband to come back to the village. Now our income is more than twice as much as it was before, and we're also taking part in the e-commerce training sessions in the village."

Township official, Huang Zhaoyu, believes the role of "Internet Plus" has been crucial to enhancing innovation and productivity in rural areas such as Huozhuang Village

"With the popularization of the Internet and improvements in infrastructure⁶ in rural areas, 'Internet plus' has become an important model to change the local economic pattern, stimulate⁷ innovation-based employment, and increase farmers' income. We'll take advantages of the 'Taobao Village' status; make full use of e-commerce in the next step of the precision poverty alleviation⁸."

The growth of e-commerce has brought vitality⁹ to rural areas, as villages explore a new path for China, with potential to realize sustainable economic growth and narrow the urban-rural income gap.

For CRI, this is Huang Shan.

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 plank   

n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目

参考例句：

• The plank was set against the wall.木板靠着墙壁。
• They intend to win the next election on the plank of developing trade.他们想以发展贸易的纲领来赢得下次选举。

3 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

4 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

5 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

8 alleviation   

n. 减轻，缓和，解痛物

参考例句：

• These were the circumstances and the hopes which gradually brought alleviation to Sir Thomas's pain. 这些情况及其希望逐渐缓解了托马斯爵士的痛苦。
• The cost reduction achieved in this way will benefit patients and the society in burden alleviation. 集中招标采购降低的采购成本要让利于患者，减轻社会负担。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 口语

9 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。