Two years ago, Li Yuhua's daughter taught her how to shop online. Since then, the 51-year-old farmer in Wushan has been a regular online shopper. Shoppers like Li Yuhua are the new target for China's ecommerce giants, including Alibaba Group, which operates the Taobao platform, and JD.com. Rural China added 3 million more Internet users in the first half, taking the total number to 225 million, or 26.3%, of the country's total Internet population of 854 million, according to a report on rural ecommerce development released last week by the China International Electronic Commerce Center. That helped improve rural online sales in the first half of the year by 21% to 777.1 billion yuan (US$109.6 billion), outpacing the national growth rate by 3.2 percentage points.
''However, it is a little bit early to say that China's ecommerce battlefield is moving to rural China, '' said Chen Tao, a senior analyst at consultancy Analysys. Unlike urban residents, most rural Chinese haven’t experienced ecommerce shopping. While that provides online platforms with one of the last undeveloped markets for ecommerce, progress has been slow due to the lack of infrastructure(基础设施)and logistics(物流)support.
To address that problem, China's second-largest ecommerce operator, JD.com hired more deliverymen and tested drone(无人机) delivery services to improve service in rural China. Alibaba Group, China's largest ecommerce player, announced in April last year that it had invested US$717 million in Huitongda Network Co., which helps to boost sales in 15,000 towns across 18 provinces.
Another inhibiting factor in the development of rural ecommerce is the income gap. In 2018, annual per capita disposable income(人均可支配收入)in rural areas was 14,600 yuan (US$2,065) compared with 39,300 yuan (US$5,559) in cities. ''Lower disposable incomes in rural areas limit the consumption,'' said analyst Chen. ''It also takes time to educate rural residents to accept ecommerce services as most of them are new to online. There is still a long way to go to popularize online shopping in rural China.''
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Whether you’re looking for a quick hotel in the city or a isolated resort in the tropics, where you choose to stay can make or break your vacation experience. But even the most seasoned travelers may not know the difference between the two main types of homes-away-from-home. Besides their first letter, is there any real difference between hotels and motels?
These two types of lodging(宾馆) have the same basic purpose—a place for travelers to sleep—but there are plenty of features that set them apart. For instance, they came to be for different reasons, and at very different times. The word “hotel” dates back to the 1600s and comes from a French word, hotel. That word, just like the English one, referred to a place that provides lodging, meals, entertainment, and other services to travelers.
Motels, on the other hand, are a much more recent—and pretty much exclusively American—lodging option. This word dates back to the 1920s and combines the words “hotel” and “motor.” As America’s major highway system developed, so did motels, filling the need for roadside stops for motorists traveling cross-country.
There are also some smaller differences that can help you figure out which type of place you’re in. Hotels tend to be built for longer stays, while motels are geared more for one- or two-night stops along a journey. Because of this, hotels are much more likely to have offerings like lounges, gyms, and entertainment.
So, in the end, it comes down to what you want from your trip and from your lodging. Want the place you stay to be just as much a part of your travel experience as anything else? Opt for a hotel. Just need a place to pop in and out of to shower and sleep? A motel might be the better choice.
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