A visitor experiences a virtual driving simulator at the expo. Zhu Xingxin / China Daily

"After three years of research and development, we are now serving customers in police, military units and some government departments with Syber OS," said Zhang.

The mobile operating system, plus the chips from Spreadtrum Communications, China's leading mobile phone chipmaker, will enable the company to make inroads into the smartphone market, targeting security-conscious average users, according to Zhang.

Chen Qing, general manager of China Post Group's Zhejiang branch, said Internet technology, particularly big data, is reshaping the country's nearly 120-year-old postal service provider.

The 110,000 Internet-connected mini supermarkets that China Post set up all over the country's rural areas generate much information each day, allowing the company to see exactly what sells well and in which area.

A terminal displayed at the Wuzhen expo shows the top 10 products sold in the countryside markets. The beverage category, for example, has Snow Beer taking the top slot in November, with 22 percent of the rural market.

"Analysis of the big data will help us to bargain with factories to get a reasonable price for products to be sold in the mini supermarkets," Chen said. "If quality products are available at a reasonable price in rural markets, fake and shoddy products will be phased out."

In three years, the number of such Internet-empowered mini sales points will surge to half a million, Chen said.

zhaohuanxin@chinadaily.com.cn