Chongqing is seeing a surge in online purchases made by local buyers, and the municipal government and e-commerce companies have got involved to push growth in the area.

Chongqing consumers have been making purchases through overseas e-commerce sites for items difficult to obtain in China or which are priced cheaply. The growing number of packages delivered by postal services overseas reflects growth in cross-border e-commerce operations in the city.

Introduced last year, a trial programme for cross-border e-commerce, which covered 13 cities, including Shanghai, Chongqing, Qingdao and Hangzhou, is set to expand in 2014.

Chongqing Government and companies are tapping into the boom, with the government launching a 'one-touch' platform, which offers one-stop online service to handle logistics, customs clearance and tax returns for importers.