Top four tech highlights in 2017
From the frenzied bike-sharing industry to the ever-expanding transportation sector, 2017 was a fruitful year for China. Here’s our selection of highlights from the tech industry!
Bike sharing
Bike sharing was one of the hottest startup categories for 2017, with $2 billion in venture funding over the last 18 months.
Mobike and Ofo emerged as the two dominant players, taking up 95 percent of the market.
However, huge piles of stolen, broken, and abandoned bikes, plus the decline of Mingbike, led us to ask: Is the phenomenon just hype?
Unmanned stores
Mobile payment services helped bring about the rise of retail outlets without employees.
One of them, BingoBox, opened in Shanghai in early July this year.
Customers scan QR codes to enter and select products. They pay using mobile WeChat wallets.
Satellites
On November 5, China launched two satellites in Sichuan.
They are part of an effort to build a domestic global navigation and positioning network and reduce reliance on overseas systems.
China launched three Jilin-1 remote sensing satellites on November 21 in Shanxi Province. The satellites will be used to forecast and mitigate geological disasters and explore natural resources.
Trains!
Currently, there are about 2,300 high-speed trains running through almost every large city and tourist destination in China. This year, several new lines have been added to the already expanding networks.
In December, the Xi’an-Chengdu high-speed train began operation. It cuts the travel time between the two cities from 12 hours to 4 hours. In addition, the world’s first lithium-battery-powered suspension railway began operating in Chengdu in November.
