In yet another development for O2O (online to offline) operations in China, internet giant Alibaba has signed an agreement with the Xiacheng district government of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, on Aug. 9, transforming the booming Wulin commercial area in the district into an O2O commercial area

In yet another development for O2O (online to offline) operations in China, internet giant Alibaba has signed an agreement with the Xiacheng district government of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, on Aug. 9, transforming the booming Wulin commercial area in the district into an O2O commercial area, and over 400 stores in the area will offer consumers services such as restaurant and hotel bookings, food deliveries, taxi services and other online payments on Alipay and other mobile internet platforms.

In a field test, a reporter from Shanghai's China Business News accessed the Wulin commercial area platform on his mobile phone through an Alipay QR code, enabling him to access services and preferential offers in any store in the area.

President of O2O operations Wang Lijuan said that the scheme blends online and offline business, enabling consumers to experience virtual convenience along with the benefits of bricks-and-mortar stores, according to the paper.

The scheme will be incorporated into the expanding O2O operations of Alibaba, which incorporated the "West Brook" commercial area of Hangzhou in July, which provides similar services to the Wulin commercial area.

The virtual commercial area is the latest addition to the expanding service scope of Alipay. In June, for instance, Alipay entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural development, thereby enabling citizens in 35 cities to transform their mobile phones with NFC (

near field communication) functionality into virtual tickets for public transport.

At the end of May, Alipay also teamed up with several major hospitals to launch a mobile medical-services platform, under which patients can access various hospital services, including booking appointments, the payment of medical bills, and the retrieval of physical exam reports through the Alipay platform, saving a considerable amount of time for patients. At Guangzhou Children Hospital, such online arrangements are only offered to patients at their own expense, already accounting for 10% of all services as of the end of July.

Peng Lei, chief personnel officer at Alibaba, said that under its cloud-end strategy, Alibaba is offering one-stop everyday services to consumers through the integration of mobile e-commerce, mobile payment, and big-data platforms, according to the paper.