Zhang Jing carries several bottles of honey, which will be sold online, on the way to her sister’s home in Benxi, Northeast China’s Liaoning province, on Jan 9. She bought the honey from a local beekeeper, Liu Guozhi, who had kept the bottles prepared for her after receiving the order. [Photo/IC]

The idea of opening an online store selling specialties from her hometown of Benxi, Liaoning province, came from people on the Internet.

"I initially knew nothing about opening an online shop," she said. "I had to spend a lot of time learning how to run a shop and become a Taobao shopkeeper."

The business has attracted support from many Internet shoppers and is performing reasonably well. Zhang has to stay up until 2 am to deal with the orders, and her two nephews are working with her. Sales revenue from the first two days totaled 16,000 yuan.

"That really surprised me," she said.

Feedback about the store on Weibo has been largely positive, with many customers praising her products and encouraging her to continue selling high-quality items.