Delivering a little love and care for Chinese New Year

Less than 24 hours after I had placed an online order on Alibaba's Tmall Supermarket, my father-in-law's jubilant voice on the other end of the phone conversation confirmed that everything had been delivered straight to his home in rural Zhejiang province.

Yes, he had received the six bottles of French red wine, the three red-and-gold boxes of assorted Xinjiang dates and walnuts, and the two tins of ginseng - our Chinese New Year presents for the family.

Just as he felt such excitement over receiving the bounty of gifts we had chosen, I was thrilled by the remarkable convenience and ease of the whole online transaction.