At first light, the newly built Dongmen farmers' market on Chaoyang East Road in Zhongjiang County, Deyang City, Sichuan, is already bustling. Under a steel-framed canopy that shields from wind and rain, the stalls are clean and tidy, with trusted meat, farm produce, grain and cooking oil, and dried goods all available.
This new farmers' market, converted from an old factory building, not only solves nearby residents' difficulty in buying vegetables but has become a standardized, regulated community commercial space. 'Before, they were open-air stalls and the ground was too dirty to step on. Now it's like shopping in a supermarket — convenient and comfortable,' said Ms. Luo, who lives nearby.
Vast counties connect city and countryside; countless markets carry the people's livelihood. Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and eight other departments jointly issued guidance directing localities to revitalize county consumption in line with local conditions, explicitly calling for deepening the 'Thousands of Markets, Ten Thousand Stores' upgrade, supporting the construction and upgrading of township commercial centers, collection (farmers') markets, and township fairs, and the standardized, regulated renovation of new convenience stores and village-level delivery and logistics service stations.
In fact, the 'Thousands of Markets, Ten Thousand Stores' upgrade is not the first time it has entered the policy horizon. Previously, from multi-department coordination to build county commercial systems to the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issuing the 'Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption,' it has been treated as an important measure to tap lower-tier market potential and smooth the urban-rural economic cycle.
The core of the 'Thousands of Markets, Ten Thousand Stores' upgrade is to respond to the shift in lower-tier market demand from 'making do' to 'caring about quality.'
At the Baiyi supermarket in Xinglongzhuang Subdistrict, Yanzhou District, Jining City, Shandong, the nearly 2,000-square-meter township supermarket is packed with shoppers.
In the fresh-food area, vegetable packages carry QR-code labels; a scan with a phone reveals origin, picking date, and pesticide-residue test reports at a glance. Not far away, in a quick-test room beside the chilled-meat counter, staff rapidly test that day's incoming meat, with results scrolling on an electronic screen. 'Before, to buy a decent wok I'd take the bus to the city center; now it's a ten-minute trip out the door — much easier,' said resident Zhang Yan.
Today, quality consumer goods once seen as exclusive to first-tier cities are also gaining popularity among county consumers. At the same time, deeply local cultural symbols are drawing more city dwellers to the countryside. The gap between 'upgraded consumer demand' and 'insufficient channel supply' breeds vast market space.
The renewal of 'Thousands of Markets, Ten Thousand Stores' cannot happen without the continuous improvement of the commercial system.
In summer, the Bajiao fair in Zilingpu Town, Dongbao District, Jingmen City, Hubei, grows livelier, with dewy produce and daily goods in abundance. The locality revitalized the idle Bajiao Village Wenchangge Square, standardized over 400 stalls, equipped parking, restrooms, and a canteen, launched a city-to-fair shuttle bus, and routinely stationed free clinics, financial consultation, and agricultural-product quality inspection — building a convenience consumption hub linking field and table and connecting city and countryside.
The key to the 'Thousands of Markets, Ten Thousand Stores' upgrade is to build and use the commercial facilities close to the people well, so urban and rural residents share more convenient, higher-quality consumption services, said Li Dingguo, deputy director of Jingmen's Commerce Bureau.
At present, as e-commerce and express delivery accelerate their penetration into county markets, how to leverage online strengths to empower offline entities is also a new question.
The newly issued guidance clarifies the need to guide coordinated online-offline development, proposing 'strengthening e-commerce supply-chain construction and expanding rural e-commerce application scenarios such as local customs, intangible heritage crafts, and rural cuisine,' pointing the way for local innovation.
Taking the Bajiao fair as an example, relying on a new 'offline fair plus online farm-aid livestream' model, a single fair livestream peaked at over 50,000 viewers, with cumulative online-offline sales exceeding 13 million yuan. Since opening in April, it has received nearly 100,000 visitors, driving business for 80% of surrounding farming households, with average household income up over 5,000 yuan.
Industry insiders note that the digital upgrade of lower-tier markets is by no means a zero-sum 'online grabbing from offline,' but a relay race of 'drawing traffic' and 'keeping customers.' Only by constantly refreshing scenes and serving with heart — letting consumers experience irreplaceable emotional warmth and regional character — can a steady stream of customer flow be attracted.
Township commercial centers are gradually adding diverse formats such as dining, leisure, and children's play; village convenience stores are simultaneously adding value-added services like parcel collection, utility payments, and repair; instant retail and livestream e-commerce are accelerating their descent to townships; and the 'order online, pick up in store' model is becoming common.
From county ancient towns to village fairs, the renewal story of 'Thousands of Markets, Ten Thousand Stores' is unfolding across the vast land, lighting up the most simple, earthly warmth of ordinary alleys while unleashing the surging growth potential of lower-tier markets.
