Zhang Jing attends to her online shop on Jan 6. The business has been good since its launch on Dec 24, 2014. [Photo/IC]

"It is my son, my parents and my parents-in-law who drive me on to pursue a better life."

She said she is not yet fully familiar with using Taobao and will continue to learn more about the platform. She plans to increase the range of products she offers as the business develops.

"Maybe I will register a trademark of my own in the future," she said.

Before the boom in e-commerce, many more vendors were on the streets, with frequent conflict between them and the authorities, who often regarded the activity as illegal.

"If we had known about Taobao before, we could have opened our online store earlier," said Zhang. "We wouldn't have had to suffer hunger and cold in the open air, and my husband might never have become a street vendor."