An iPhone 4 is seen on the table next to Zhu Lin, the owner of an Alibaba rural service centre in Yuzhao Village, Tonglu, Zhejiang province, China. The country's rural e-commerce market is said to be potentially worth 460bil yuan (RM287bil) by 2016. Photo: Reuters/Aly Song
Cheng Yonghao left his village in central Henan province almost 20 years ago, not expecting to return. He's now back home, to open a village store to help locals shop online.
Cheng is just one of an army of local recruits who are part of Alibaba Group's big bet on rural e-commerce as China's internet giants invest billions in outpost service hubs to tap a market twice the size of the US.
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