Phoenix Village is located in western China's Gansu Province.
Despite its history as a key base for the Communist Party of China during the war, the region itself struggled for years with limited economic growth and a sparsely-educated population.
Enhancing educational development
However, with the arrival of a high-speed broadband network, high-quality educational resources were now available in the isolated Phoenix Village.
Jing Fengxin is the headmaster of the primary school in Phoenix Village.
"China Telecom introduced the 100-megabytes per second network into this mountainous region, which has enhanced teachers' efficiency and students' learning enthusiasm," said Jing.
Starting from last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as well as the Ministry of Finance, have been funding projects designed to create universal telecommunication access across China.
8.7 billion yuan worth of government funds, along with 23 billion yuan worth of investment from telecommunications companies, have since been poured into the project.
This has allowed an estimated 31,000 poverty-stricken villages to gain access to broadband internet access.
Boosting e-commerce development
Jing Jianping used to work in Beijing.
But since the optical fiber broadband became available in Phoenix village, he decided to return to his hometown, opening up the first online shop on Taobao in the area.
"The Taobao shop has helped to buy 3,064 items for the villagers, including agricultural materials, home appliances, and daily necessities, worth at 510,000 yuan," said Jing Jianping.
The rural Taobao platform also has a filtering function, which can guarantee the products sold here are all high-quality ones.
"Up to last August, our service station sold 12 tons of apples on this platform on behalf of 8 fruit growers, involving nearly 10,000 yuan. We also helped them to sell agriculture products, such as walnuts, apricots, and pepper," he added.
Improving people's living standards
Deputy General Manager of China Telecom's Gansu branch, Tang Xiaowen, says the construction of information infrastructure can better serve the people in rural areas.
"Now the farmers can also use the app to purchase train tickets. The construction of infrastructure can also raise the farmers' income. A large number of special agricultural products can be put on sale thanks to an enhanced marketing chain," said Tang.
He also points out, with the e-commerce and improved logistic conditions, people in the countryside can now obtain goods and services with assured quality and reasonable prices.
Through the introduction of the network, villagers can also enjoy a simplified process in getting medical treatment and reimbursement.
May 17 is World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
