The city of Harbin, Heilongjiang province reports sales of consumer goods amounting to 150.9 billion yuan ($24.34 billion) in the first six months of this year, up 8.5 percent year-on-year, according to Harbin Daily of August 5, citing the city’s business bureau.

Retail sales growth was 0.2 percentage point higher than the provincial average and higher than three other major cities in Northeast China -- Shenyang and Dalian, Liaoning province, and Changchun, Jilin province.

Consumer goods in urban areas contributed a lot to the figure in the first half, at 136.39 billion yuan, an increase of 8.4 percent, while in rural areas they contributed 14.51 billion yuan, up 9.3 percent.

In commenting on the growth, one farmer from the nearby Yanshou county, Wang Yufeng, explained that she came to downtown Harbin to buy a new cellphone and some clothes, noting that she prefers shopping in Harbin because it has more choices and lower prices than her back home even though it takes her three hours.

These days, more people from neighboring towns and counties come to the metropolis for the same reasons or they are turning to online shopping.

Sun Hongyu, of the Harbin business bureau, says, “The increase in the number of consumers from rural areas is primarily because there’s been no disaster affecting local agriculture in the region, and this results in the rising incomes of farmers and great purchasing power among young farmers.”

Sun went on to say that the growth of Internet use and logistics services in remote towns and villages means that online consumers' spending in rural areas around Harbin is bound to see a surge over next few years.