Chasing home improvements

Villagers work at a wood funiture factory in Dongfeng village of Shaji town. Wang Qing / for China Daily

Migrant workers returning to their hometowns use the internet to earn much more

Yang Gang was one of the millions of Chinese migrant workers drifting between the country's large coastal cities to find work to support his family back in the countryside.

But the 25-year-old recently found a return to rural life far more rewarding.

He now plants wheat at a plot of land measuring 0.13 hectares in Shaji town in Jiangsu province, and has plenty of time to spend with his wife and son.

Not that his bucolic life is exactly the same as before - Yang spends most of his time facing a computer at home to sell wooden furniture through Taobao.com, China's largest online marketplace.

Since its launch in May last year, the store has earned him 50,000 yuan (5,600 euros) in net profit, which is more than what he can get from working in cities where the cost of living will erode a large part of his wages.

"I no longer want to work in cities. The workload there is heavy and the daily expenditure is just too high. Here I'm my own boss and can enjoy much more freedom," said Yang, who took up different odd jobs after he graduated from junior high school.

"E-commerce is huge business now even in the rural areas. Thanks to it, a lot of people like me are coming back from cities with ambitions to develop the rural interior," he said.

In Shaji town, Yang is just one of the hundreds, if not thousands of farmers-turned-migrant workers who have been drawn back to the countryside by growing opportunities amid China's rapid urbanization.

Sun Han, 27, is one of the first few people in the area who started an online store in 2005. Sun said Shaji now boasts nearly 2,000 online stores that are all run by local farmers. Most of them plant wheat and other crops on top of maintaining online businesses as their primary source of income.

The sales volume of all these stores reached 100 million yuan last year and is poised to exceed 300 million yuan this year, he said.

Sun alone has three online stores dealing with wooden furniture, including computer desks, wardrobes and bookshelves. He earns an annual income of 600,000 yuan. With the growth of his business, Sun has even built his own manufacturing factory with a daily output valued at 10,000 yuan.

"It's interesting to note that only a few years ago it was farmers flowing into cities with the old and the children left behind," he said.

"But now farmers are coming back and even university graduates from nearby cities are coming to us as competition in the job markets in cities intensifies.

"The most important thing is that returning farmers are just happy that they are now able to be with their family members without earning less money," he said.

The self-employed businesses in Shaji, usually involve a computer with Internet access, a courtyard large enough to make and assemble furniture, and some knowledge of carpentry. Yang said he has employed three carpenters and together the four turn wooden planks into furniture at a 200 sq m courtyard at the rear of his house. The products are then sold through the online store at prices only about one-third of what is offered at major furniture stores such as IKEA.

"We also provide custom-made services," said Yang, who runs a steady business of 6,000 yuan a month.

Even express delivery companies are cashing in on the opportunity. Yang said offices of major domestic delivery companies now line the streets of the town, while trucks and vans hurry between the town and different parts of the country.

The local government has also offered small loans to start-up Internet entrepreneurs to support the development of the industry, Yang said.

But Sun said he never imagined online businesses would develop so quickly in his hometown when he started it five years ago. He also sees a need for innovation and branding as more people join the trend and competition among them intensifies.

As group purchasing has become a new trend, Sun also plans to launch a website to promote the sale of wooden furniture and construction materials.

"Profit margins have already started to decline in the past two years, so design and branding will be necessary if we want to excel," he said.