China Focus: Life digitalized, enhanced by smartphone mini programs

GUANGZHOU, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) — If you spend a few days in China, you’ll witness an epitome of a digital lifestyle, with a smartphone able to offer you efficient solutions to many daily tasks including booking appointments and paying bills.
Moreover, you don’t need to clutter your smartphone with an array of apps to achieve such solutions, as many platforms in China such as Weixin (WeChat), Alipay, Baidu, Douyin and Meituan have introduced mini programs, which allow users to utilize the functions of various applications within the same platform, and without the need for downloading or installing these various apps.
TRAVEL ASSISTANT
During the 2024 summer holiday and recent National Day holiday, mini programs proved valuable assistants for both Chinese and foreign tourists.
In Shanghai, the “Enjoy Shanghai” Weixin Mini Program provided real-time updates on visitor numbers and maximum capacities for around 140 city attractions — helping tourists decide whether a site was too crowded to visit or not.
When traveling abroad, Chinese tourists can use the overseas section of the Weixin Mini Program, easily accessing services like travel planning, ticket bookings and shopping options. This feature is now available in 15 countries and regions including Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
For foreign tourists in China, Weixin has introduced a new feature that allows for instant translation of the text in any mini program, supporting 18 major languages including Chinese, English and French.
CARE FOR ELDERLY
Elderly people, who have often been overlooked by new technologies, are now feeling cared for with a new feature introduced in the Weixin Mini Program.
Liu, a 67-year-old hypertensive person from Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, has mastered the art of booking doctor’s appointments via the Weixin Mini Program.
Nowadays in China, people usually make doctor’s appointments online. “I used to struggle with entering my ID, address and verification code, squinting with my reading glasses and still couldn’t get it right for dozens of minutes,” Liu recalls.
Those days are gone, thanks to a user-friendly urban service feature designed for seniors, simplifying the medical appointment process. The Weixin Mini Program interface offers larger fonts, while the elderly also no longer need to wrestle with cumbersome information input. It took Liu a mere two minutes to make an appointment through this improved option.
EMERGENCY HELPER
In times of emergency, mini programs are also helpful.
The national earthquake early warning mini program launched its public beta in August, requiring only three simple steps to turn on alerts. During the Hefei earthquake in east China’s Anhui Province on Sept. 18 this year, it successfully alerted 129,145 people.
Regardless of the brand or model of their mobile phones, users can receive official earthquake early warnings more conveniently and swiftly through this mini program, according to the China Earthquake Administration.
In cities like Guangzhou and Suzhou, residents can access vital first aid information, such as the location of automated external defibrillator (AED) devices and volunteers, through a first aid assistant mini program.
Using the emergency call feature within the mini program, users can also initiate a video call with on-duty doctors and experts who will guide them through the rescue process.
Weixin Mini Program told Xinhua: “We expect wider application of mini programs in multiple scenarios such as public affairs, transportation, education, healthcare, emergency response and urban services, by providing more updates and services in the future, so as to help more people enjoy the convenience, efficiency and security brought by digital life.” ■