Wechat is a hugely popular messaging application
in China. Not long after moving to Beijing in 2012, I discovered that many people
use this app to communicate. According to its developer, Tencent, as of August
2015, there are over 600 million active users. Wechat, or Weixin (微信-micro message) provides features associated with similar messaging
and social media platforms. You can send multimedia messages to other users and
also post text, photographs and links on your “moments” for your contacts to
view and comment on.
For the longest time, I used Wechat for the
sole purpose of sending messages and sharing information with my friends. After some time, I
heard whispers and rumours that there were more exciting Wechat features. But
just like my feelings in relation to leprechauns and politicians, I wasn’t yet ready
to discover more about these unknown entities. How was I to know that there was
so much untapped potential in my mobile app, just waiting to be utilised…
…Things had to change. A couple
of months ago I decided to bravely take the plunge and get a Chinese bank account. Previously, I only had a card with a Chinese branch of an international bank, which restricted me in terms of paying for things online. However, with a genuine Chinese bankcard, the world (or in this
case, China) is my oyster.
Once I had become the proud owner of my very own Chinese bankcard, I
swiftly linked it with my Wechat account. Yes – I could now explore those
unchartered territories that I’d feared for far too long. I could embrace the majestic
wonder of WECHAT WALLET. With this option at my disposal, I felt like after
three years of living in the Middle Kingdom, I would finally be a truly accepted and functional
member of society. All the cool kids were using Wechat Wallet. Now, all the
cool kids and a Welsh foreigner could. It was as if I had been welcomed into a
club of elite social media users. I believed I now qualified as a “real
person” by my perhaps misguided perception of Chinese standards.
Wechat Wallet allows users to send money to
other contacts. This is perfect if you owe a friend some money or need to share
the bill for a meal and don’t have enough cash. Some shops and supermarkets now
allow you to pay for goods using Wechat, with just a quick scan of a QR Code.
The biggest convenience that I have
discovered is online shopping. Can’t find what you want at the local
supermarket or mall? Not wanting to venture outside during a smoggy day? Then you can
order almost anything online and have it delivered straight to your door or
workplace. This can all be paid for using Wechat Wallet.
My most recent purchases include a laser
egg that measures air pollution, a hotpot cooker for the cold winter months and
a Chinese set of ‘The Walking Dead’ comics (行尸走肉) in the
hope that they will inspire me to keep studying Chinese characters. These treats have certainly cheered me up when the pm2.5 pollution levels have reached over
600 outside.
Buying things from the comfort of my
home while avoiding crowds and toxic smog is still a novelty for me. Has Wechat changed my life? Well perhaps the title of this post is a tad dramatic. But it has made buying things a lot easier. Now I’ll just have
to work on my self-restraint. I wonder if I can buy a guidebook on how to do
that…
Please note that Wechat is not sponsoring
me for this blog post (although if you are reading this Tencent, I am happy to
receive some kind of payment or praise).
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