As of May 31, the "Hundreds of Counties, Thousands of Commodities" Exhibition and Sales Center in downtown Yiwu, Zhejiang province, had achieved a sales revenue of 22 million yuan ($3.4 million) this year, according to local media reports.

Launched by Yiwu authorities last July, "Hundreds of Counties, Thousands of Commodities" is a promotional project for agricultural and handcrafted goods made in China's underdeveloped regions.

To date, 33 Yiwu staffers have been dispatched to a total of 301 underdeveloped counties nationwide with the mission of selecting special local products to be sold in Yiwu. More than 10,000 kinds of products have entered the Yiwu market so far.

"Walnut growing is one of the main sources of income for farmers in Wushi county in Aksu, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. However, local walnuts have long been in excess of demand because of their remote geographic location," said Fang Dongfei, one of the Yiwu staffers, who was chosen because of his business experience as a longtime fruit merchant. Due to their high quality, the walnuts immediately rose to popularity after they were introduced into the Yiwu market.

"In-season agricultural products from underdeveloped regions are quite popular in the market. For example, high-altitude, pollution-free fruits and cereals which I have introduced from Guizhou province have proven a market success," said another Yiwu staffer named Wu Xiaoxiang.