An express delivery company loads packages from Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College in east China's Zhejiang province. Twenty such companies are doing business with the student e-retailers in Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College, and some of them have had to lower prices to be more competitive at the school. [Photo: Beijing Morning Post]

Hundreds of students at Yiwu Industrial & Commercial College in Zhejiang province are clambering to open online shops on Taobao.com, China's largest consumer-to-customer auction website, Beijing Morning Post reports.

The fever to run online shops by some 1,800 students at the college came after Jia Shaohua, president of the college who has promised his students to gain equal semester credits by operating their own businesses on campus.

According to the report, among the shops owned by the students, 400 have successfully obtained diamond-level credit ratings on taobao.com, the second stage in the three-tiered rating system. Their profits have led to the formation of an e-commerce supply chain at Yiwu, a city that is popular in China and the world for its trade of small commodities.

Thanks to the preferencial policies Jia introduced into his college, Jia's students can earn relevant credits by reaching profit benchmarks instead of taking courses in classrooms.

Yang Fugang, an outstanding student among the online retailers, has greatly benefited from the policy by earning a monthly income ranging between 30,000 and 40,000 yuan. Yang, now also campus star of self-employment, already earned six credits in one year.

Yang Fugang's annual turnover volume has reached 2 million yuan in just over two years, and his shop has now gained the rating of two crowns, which mean that he is at the top credit rating category on taobao.com. The two crowns also imply that Yang's e-shop has been recommended by more than 45,000 online shoppers.

Moreover, president Jia Shaohua also established a Self-Employment School under his college, and only students who pull in more than 8,000 yuan per month are eligible to study there.

Under professional campus guidance, Jia's students are also able to share practical knowledge and advice that could prove helpful to become new retailers. Marketing goods at fair prices, bargaining with suppliers and learning to withstand difficulties are also common expertise his students have to learn in his school.

Today, despite the global economic recession, online shops are seeing a boom revival as more and more customers turn to auction websites in search of better deals.

A report released by iResearch and Taobao show that the trade volume of online shopping in Chine increased by about 129 percent to 120 billion yuan (17.6 billion US dollars) in 2008.

As Graduates face daunting pressures to find a job these days, an online shop looks to be a bright spot for those who are willing to take on the risks of self-employment.