At 8 a.m., as winter mist lingered over the mountains of Fengjie County in Chongqing, villagers had already gathered outside Liu Meirong's PDD Holdings Inc (PDD) pickup station. With the roll-up door clattering open, the modest 50-square-meter space buzzed with activity. "Sister Liu, has the Musang King durian I ordered arrived? My kid’s been asking for days," one villager called out. Another chimed in, "Meirong, can you check if this heater’s plug fits?" Amid the chatter, the remote mountain village began its lively day.
The shelves stacked with parcels epitomize PDD’s "100 Billion Support" initiative, which promotes inclusive consumption even in this secluded village—400 km and nearly five hours by road from downtown Chongqing. Modern e-commerce, facilitated by this humble station, is tangibly transforming villagers' lives.
Liu Meirong, who ran a mobile phone shop for a decade, witnessed the struggles villagers faced with parcel deliveries. "They had to wait for buses to fetch packages from town—it was terribly inconvenient," she recalled. Nestled in a canyon, the village’s terrain made even leaving an ordeal: a two-hour hike or a sporadic bus ride, costing nearly 10 yuan round-trip—sometimes more than the goods themselves.
For elderly residents and schoolchildren, the "last-mile" logistics hurdle stifled online shopping. Villager Lao Chen once received expired pastries sent by his son due to delayed pickup. "Such a waste of his thoughtfulness," he lamented. Sending parcels was even harder—homemade sweet potatoes or navel oranges required arduous trips to town, deterring many.
Determined to help, Liu partitioned her shop to open a PDD-affiliated pickup station in September 2024. "PDD provided one-on-one support and fair pay per parcel," she said. The station accepts packages from all e-commerce platforms, with daily courier pickups easing logistics.
Now, the station brims with diverse goods—from odd-shaped screws to furniture. A villager renovating his home pointed to newly delivered tiles: "Buying online saves the trip to county markets." Fresh produce like Qinghai lamb and Xinjiang jujubes now reach villagers intact, thanks to PDD’s cold-chain solutions.
The station also empowers local farmers. Fengjie, famed for navel oranges, saw growers like Yu Guiying sell thousands of pounds of plums via PDD without the usual hassle. "No more predawn treks to markets or spoilage worries," she said. Livestreaming from the station boosted transparency, cutting costs and enhancing trust.
Daily pickups surged to 100 parcels, peaking at 200 during holidays. Liu, now the village’s trusted "hub," gleans trends from nationwide shipments. "I know which cities love our oranges or what’s trendy urban," she laughed. Her phone business also revived as villagers browse devices during visits.
Beyond commerce, the station syncs the village with urban rhythms. In just a year, PDD’s initiative has turned geographic isolation into connectivity, proving remoteness no longer means marginalization.
PDD’s data shows its "100 Billion Support" plan, launched in April 2024, expanded quality SKUs by 51%, integrating western villages into the national market. For Fengjie’s residents, the chasm between mountain and metropolis has truly narrowed.
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