China's rural consumption has continued to expand and upgrade this year, boosted by the surging demand for smart appliances in rural areas.

In the first half of 2025, rural residents' per capita consumption expenditure reached 9,733 yuan (about 1,360 U.S. dollars), representing a real increase of 6.1 percent according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In a home appliance e-commerce logistics warehouse in Huangwan Town of Haining City, east China's Zhejiang Province, 30 percent out of over 100 daily orders of the smart home appliances are destined for rural areas.

From January to June this year, orders for smart home appliances to rural areas in Zhejiang increased by 40 percent year on year. Orders from rural areas within Haining City specifically jumped by over 60 percent, averaging about 100 orders daily.

In Luwan Village of Haining, many villagers have purchased new smart home appliances, including Chu Xuefen.

There are almost 10 types of smart home appliances in Chu's home, such as a smart fan, smart door lock, water purifier, and remotely-controlled curtains.

According to the 7th National Population Census, the proportion of people aged 60 and above and 65 and above in China's rural areas is 23.81 percent and 17.72 percent, respectively. These figures are 7.99 percent points and 6.61 percent points higher than in urban areas.

Empowered by new quality productive forces, the consumption potential for elderly-friendly smart products in rural areas accelerated its release in the first half of the year.

Meanwhile, as younger new-generation farmers gradually take charge of their households, rural consumers are paying more attention to quality and intelligence.

"Smart home appliances are now a standard feature of our young people's home renovations. Based on the information on your phone, you can see how much electricity was used this night," said Zhu Chengyan, a villager of Yongsheng Village.

National subsidy policies have also promoted the sales of home appliances.

"There was a promotion on the robotic vacuum cleaner. Together with the state subsidy, I saved over 800 yuan. Adding up various items like the lights, washing machine, and others, I actually saved nearly 10,000 yuan," said Zhu.

In Haining, 532 new entities registered to sell smart home appliances in the first half of the year, with rural store sales accounting for about 50 percent of the city's total.