Libei village: From farming to 'Taobao Village'

In recent years, Libei village in Xifeng county, Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, has gained fame through the rapid rise of the e-commerce industry, transforming into "Guizhou's top Taobao Village", with an annual e-commerce transaction volume exceeding 13 million yuan ($1.80 million). 

However, before 2015, Libei village was just a traditional agricultural village. Most young residents sought work outside the village, and the average annual income was less than 6,000 yuan. 

In 2015, Guizhou province launched initiatives to promote e-commerce for rural development. With strong support and guidance from provincial, municipal, and county-level departments, Libei village began fostering the concentrated development of its e-commerce sector.

In October 2016, Xifeng county partnered with Alibaba's Taobao University to establish the "Taobao University Training Academy Xifeng Training Base". This platform has provided e-commerce training to county leaders, entrepreneurs, rural e-commerce practitioners, prosperity leaders, vocational students, and young job seekers.

Efforts have been made to tackle the "last mile" logistics challenge for agricultural e-commerce supplies and industrial goods distribution. The village collective worked with nine courier companies, including ZTO and STO Express, to establish the Libei Village Logistics Company and a local courier service hub. This improved logistics accessibility enhanced the convenience of online shopping for villagers and encouraged them to explore selling quality agricultural products online.

To boost agricultural sales, the village prioritized standardization and branding. In February 2017, the "Libei Village E-commerce Service Center" was established, featuring 12 service departments for product development, showcasing, and branding. With support from Guizhou Laolarou E-commerce Co, villagers began developing green, standardized agricultural products into e-commerce goods.

Within two months, Xifeng identified 50 product categories and developed over 1,800 items, including the unique local brands "Fengwei" and "Miaosu". These brands showcase the distinct flavors and cultures of Guizhou and Xifeng.

The large-scale development of e-commerce products has effectively transformed agricultural goods into online commodities, sparking innovation and entrepreneurship among villagers.

Peng Shunjun, the first in Libei village to sell online, produces homemade cured meat as a family business. Before 2015, his annual sales were around 150,000 yuan. After embracing e-commerce, his sales soared to 1.65 million yuan in 2016. Inspired by Peng, other villagers followed suit, opening online stores to sell local products like rice tofu and kiwi fruit.  

By October 2017, the village had registered six e-commerce enterprises, 27 individual businesses, and 114 Taobao stores, employing 155 people in the e-commerce sector. Annual online retail sales surpassed 10.7 million yuan, meeting the standards set by the Alibaba Research Institute for "Taobao Villages". This made Libei Guizhou's first "Taobao Village" and a "China Taobao Village" for three consecutive years.