“You mean to tell me: I can get anything I want… anywhere I am… and at any time of day or night?”
After arriving in China with few personal possessions, it seemed too good to be true.
But it was true. It was Suzhou, China, and we were having the “Taobao app” explained to us over a perspiring TsingTao lager.
The explanation of this staple Chinese mobile app continued at full volume: “Yes! You can order your groceries, take-out, beer, clothing, toilet paper, dog food… anything. And it comes to your door in under an hour. You can order milk, eggs, and a goddamn baby alligator if you want one!
Hmmmmmm… We pondered the possibilities. Then we downloaded the app.
At which point we ordered a real banana plant… which arrived sixty-seven minutes later in a cardboard box. The magic was real.
Then we downloaded another app. This time, for Didi (the Chinese version of Uber).
Then another one for face-recognition cashless payment. And another for language translation. And another and another and another.
And after all that downloading, we did something that (at the time) truly felt surreal… we did away with our wallets and our keys.
No longer did we carry anything in our pockets, save our phones and a keycard to enter our apartment. It was a strange sensation that’s difficult to describe; I mean, had there been a day in our lives that we didn’t carry keys and a wallet or purse? I mean, other than those Sundays (back in Canada) that were devoted to NFL and pajama pants?
It felt like everything was at our fingertips—with just a click of a button.
Living in China was going to be easy!
(fast-forward six months)
Ok, living in China has its challenges. BUT… the city of Suzhou was an easy entry. It’s a cultural mecca, it’s incredibly clean, it’s unquestionably safe, and it’s got separate lanes for e-bikes (electric scooters/the most prevalent mode of transportation).
Besides the ease of being able to do absolutely everything from your phone, Suzhou puts one within a stone’s throw of several ethnic restaurants, shopping malls, art museums, traditional gardens and public parks.
Interestingly enough, for having a population of thirteen million people, Suzhou is a fairly sleepy town—in stark contrast to the bumpin’ nightlife of neighbouring Shanghai. But the trade-off, is that it’s incredibly peaceful.
And that’s worth the price of the ticket.
