Ancient town gets smart makeover

Once a sleepy tourist attraction, this part of Zhejiang province is so Internet-savvy that it leaves bigger cities in the shade. Yan Yiqi reports in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province.

A year ago, if someone had said he could live in a small water town in Zhejiang province for a week with only a smartphone, people would have regarded him as crazy.

However, in today's Wuzhen, this idea is no longer a fantasy.

Free Wi-Fi, free wireless charging facilities for smartphones, digital payment facilities in restaurants, stores and guesthouses and online bike rental services have made this dream come true.

As a consequence of holding the first World Internet Conference last year, the number of Internet-connected structures in the water town has been growing exponentially in the past year.

By the end of November, the number of free Wi-Fi hot spots in the town had risen to 425, covering almost the whole town.

Tao Yongchun, the Party chief in Wuzhen, says that tourists can get free Wi-Fi signals even in every public restroom.

"Last year, free Wi-Fi just covered the scenic area in Wuzhen. Now people can get access to the Internet in almost every corner of town," he says.

Better services

To better serve tourists, Wuzhen has also constructed 26 free bike-rental spots. Unlike bike-rental services provided by other cities that require a card and payment of at least 200 yuan ($31) in cash, the bikes in Wuzhen can be rented simply by scanning the QR code with a smartphone.

There is also no need to worry if your smartphone runs out of battery.

Eight smart information kiosks are scattered in the town, providing free wireless charging.

Wang Wen, a tourist from Shanghai, says that she is astonished that the use of the Internet in Wuzhen covers almost every aspect of life.

"I was buying a bag of mahua (a traditional sweet fried-dough twist) in the town's scenic area and was surprised that the seller, apparently in her 60s, encouraged me to use Alipay (a digital payment platform developed by Alibaba)," she says.

Wang says that almost every shop suggests using digital payment.

"It seems that the Internet has grown deep roots in the town. Even a modern city like Shanghai cannot compete with it in this aspect," she says.

While the rapid development of a smart town benefits tourists, residents are also enjoying the convenience of the Internet.

Wang Chenfeng runs a guesthouse in the scenic area of Wuzhen.

He says that last year's conference brought fame to the town and also more guests.

His guesthouse, with eight beds, is often fully booked via online platforms even during the off season.

According to statistics from the tourism department of Wuzhen, the number of tourists grew 30 percent year-on-year in the two months after the first World Internet Conference last year.

This year, the number is expected to hit 7 million, a record high.

Wang says that the name Wuzhen has gained recognition since the conference.

"In the past, when I introduced myself as a person from Wuzhen, people would ask which city or which province it belonged to," he says. "Now almost everyone knows Wuzhen and most people show interest in visiting the town."

Wang says that the rising popularity of the town also draws young people back to their hometown.

"Some young people have even resigned from their jobs in big cities to open guesthouses here," says Wang.

And the younger generation is not the only group of people in Wuzhen who are benefiting from the development.

Yang Lijuan has lived in Wuzhen her whole life. Although the 79-year-old does not understand what the "Internet" means, she gives a thumbs up when someone mentions it.

"Since they installed online home-care facilities in my home in August, I feel safer living alone," she says.

The online home-care that Yang refers to is a set of facilities, including sensors at the front door, a machine that can test blood pressure and a waterproof wristband that can send signals to smartphones.

Every morning, Yang tests her blood pressure via the machine, and the results are sent to the smartphones of her children and nurses at the elder-care center.

If she happens to forget to close her front door, the sensors will also send notifications to both her children and the nurses.

"I have high blood pressure and feel dizzy when my blood pressure is really high. If I press the button on the wristband when I felt dizzy, the nurses come to my home within five minutes," she says.

Yang is among the first group of 1,953 senior citizens in Wuzhen who enjoy the benefits brought by the introduction of the Internet.

Smart town

Since last year's World Internet Conference, Wuzhen has attached great importance to making the town a real "smart" town. Smart senior care is one of the major projects.

Tao says that, with the Internet senior care project, more people can enjoy services at home.

"The advantage of the Internet senior-care system is that we can use the available human resources to take care of senior citizens efficiently."

Tao says that under the current system, 22 workers attend to more than 1,900 senior citizens in the town.

"Our plan is to make the project cover all 15,000 senior citizens in the town before next year's World Internet Conference," he says.

In addition to the healthcare system, Wuzhen also developed an online-information system that enables residents to report problems via WeChat.

The system also collects basic information of every household and puts it into QR codes for local civil servants to better carry out their duties.

Tao says that further development of the smart town will continue at a high speed.

"Since Wuzhen has become the permanent venue for the World Internet Conference, the Internet will play an even more important role in Wuzhen," he says.

Contact the writer at yanyiqi@chinadaily.com.cn