A customer shops at an Alibaba rural service centre in Jinjia Village, Tonglu, Zhejiang province, China, July 20, 2015. E-commerce growth in the countryside now outpaces that in major cities, though fewer than one tenth of online purchases made on Alibaba platforms were shipped to rural areas in the first quarter of this year. Alibaba estimates the potential market at 460 billion yuan ($74 billion) by next year. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters)

Bicycle rickshaw drivers chat as they wait for customers near the Drum Tower in a traditional neighbourhood on September 30, 2021 in Beijing, China. China will mark National Day and the Golden Week holiday from October 1st. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

Fishermen catch fish at Mao'er lake at the start of winter fishing season which is a local custom to welcome the new year on December 29, 2018 in Huaian, Jiangsu Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Waitresses wearing protective masks, face-shields and gloves to prevent infections following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, gesture to customers toasting glasses at the cheerleader-themed restaurant “Cheers One” in Tokyo, Japan on May 11, 2020. (Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Customers play with cats to find comfort at the Caturday Cat cafe after the government started opening some restaurants outside shopping malls, parks and barbershops, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand on May 7, 2020. (Photo by Juarawee Kittisilpa/Reuters)

An otter reaches for a snack from a customer at an otter cafe in Tokyo. Asian small-clawed otters are increasingly popular as novelty pets, particularly in Japan. Now international trade in the species may be banned. (Photo by Noriko Hayashi/The New York Times)