Baiquan town in Dinghai district, Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province has since last year been building the Dreambuilding Space, a start-up base for local farmers to leverage e-commerce to bolster the local economy, local media reported on Nov 15.

Located in Gaoxie village in Baiquan, the Dreambuilding Space was once an obsolete plant. Government officials from Baiquan town and Gaoxie village have encouraged local villagers to sell their produce online by offering training and livestreaming rooms free of charge at the start-up base.

Authorities have also encouraged local villagers living and working in other cities to start businesses in their hometowns.

Yuan Weijun is one of the first farmers to begin operating in the Dreambuilding Space. Yuan primarily grows Wandao waxberry, Gaoxie grapefruit, and loquat.

"Sixty percent of my grapefruit was sold online last year," said Yuan. "This year, I expect to sell about 300,000 kilograms of grapefruit and generate more than 300,000 yuan ($47,000) in revenue."

The Xinquan Rose Base is another farm that is operating within the Dreambuilding Space. Its founder Zhou Tao returned to his hometown to build the farm in 2016.

Zhou said that the Dreambuilding Space has helped him grow into a skilled flower farmer. His nursery has also started dabbling in agri-tourism.

There are currently 11 rural households operating at the Dreambuilding Space, which has attracted 14 home farms and specialized cooperatives to Baiquan town.