Farm to dining table, food takes Web route to success

Until 2014, farmer Yang Kuanmin of Luochuan county, Shaanxi province, West China, used to earn around 80,000 yuan ($12,168) per annum growing and selling apples. But, last year, his story of 10 years changed, and his annual income surged by a staggering 50 percent to 120,000 yuan, when he jumped on the e-commerce bandwagon.

"Getting online is so good for sales. You can sell your fruit to customers around China," he said.

This year, farmers such as Yang were swept off their feet by e-commerce when Alibaba Group Holding Ltd held the Ali Spring Festival Shopping event from Jan 17 to Jan 21.