AliResearch, the research arm of Alibaba Group, has released a new report on rural e-commerce in China. The AliResearch report projects that the rural e-commerce market in China will reach RMB180 billion (US$29bn) by year end and over RMB460 billion (around US$75 bn) by 2016. It is expected rural residents will spend an average of RMB500 (US$80) to RMB2000 (US$300) via online shopping annually. More than twenty rural villages are called “Taobao Villages” where they are crowded with Taobao retailers. The integration of rural China into the e-commerce marketplace is underway.