E-commerce brings prosperity, helps bridge rural-urban divide

JINAN - After borrowing 1,400 yuan ($200) to buy a computer, Ren Qingsheng made his first online sale in 2010, earning 600 yuan in profit from the deal. That year, Ren, the first business owner to tap into e-commerce in Dinglou, a village in Shandong province, made a total of 7,000 yuan from online sales.

Previously, he had made a living traveling across the country with bags of costumes, selling to photography studios, but the profits were modest.

"This year, my annual revenue is about 10 million yuan, only just among the top ten business people in our village," said Ren, now Party secretary of Dinglou, which is administered by the city of Heze.