The Chinese letter written by Bedolla thanking Bainiu village in Lin'an district, Hangzhou. [Photo provided to Hangzhoufeel]

Bedolla hence launched the Mexican Digital Village Project, and with the help of the local government and Alibaba Global Digital Economy Talent Project, he decided to use Bainiu village as a template as to how to bring the e-commerce model to Mexico.

Over the past two years, Bedolla and his team have trained 400 teachers and 8,000 students and helped about 1,500 Mexican micro-enterprises. The resulting changes were significant.

For example, in Guanajuato, a Mexican state which was once laggard, people can now not only sold handmade stone mortars to high-end restaurants, but also sold them to Indonesia, South Africa and other countries.

Finely polished stone mortars from the state saw a price increase from just a few dollars to upwards of $200.

Many villages that had been hollowed out have now see an influx of many young people as the handicrafts are no longer considered an embarrassment to younger generations.