As Wuxi is a high-tech city, it's only fitting that the towns of Yangshan, Dingshu and Gushan have been selected as provincial rural e-commerce pilot towns, according to the city's commerce bureau.
By making use of their agricultural specialties, such as Yangshan's honey peaches, Dingshu's purple clay teapots, and Gushan's underwear and children's garments, the three towns have been actively developing e-commerce to boost product sales by encouraging famers to open online stores.
According to Xue Xian, director of Yangshan Commerce Department, farmers in Yangshan started to expand sales channels by opening online shops on e-commerce platforms such as Tmall.com and JD.com in 2012, yielding 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) in revenue.
By the end of 2015, Yangshan Town had more than 2,500 online shops selling honey peaches with 432 million yuan in sales. In 2016, the town will establish its own e-commerce platform to build its distinctive brand.
