My Apps

One of the things I adore most about living in China is the convenience. By convenience, I am referring to several apps that I’m becoming more dependent on daily. By "dependent," I strongly imply that if these apps disappear from my life, my world might possibly crumble inwardly and then burst into flames. They say the things that you love most often hurt you the most. Let's see if these is indeed true:

1.       WeChat

 Over the last few years, I think Americans have heard more about this particular app. This is the app of all apps: the app King. Everyone has it. Friends use it. Families use it. Businesses use it. People in Asia, from my humble observation, even use Wechat more frequently than texting and phone calls combined. I rarely text, and China doesn’t have voice mail on their calls, but neither of these things are truly necessary as long as you have this powerful app. 
Imagine if Skype, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Paypal, and your phone company got together to create 1 master app. It might look a little something like Wechat.

You can leave up to 60-second voice messages, see what your friends are up to, share pictures and videos, upload files, send your real-time location, share music, video chat, voice call...and that’s just a taste of the communication tools.

Need to pay your phone, gas, or electric bill? Use Wechat. Owe your friend money? Use Wechat. Want to buy movie, plane, or train tickets? Use Wechat. Lost and need directions? Use Wechat. Paying for lunch? Use Wechat. Looking to buy or sell something? Wechat. Need a ride somewhere? You guessed it, Wechat!

Nearly every financial responsibility I have can be taken care of easily and securely with Wechat. It’s truly 1 app to rule them all *cue epic Lord of the Rings soundtrack*.  In America, there are many good apps that are useful, but America relies more on different apps performing different roles. Asia…well, they just need Wechat.

As much as I enjoy traveling back to America each summer, I always get a little sad when I step off the plane in Detroit and realize I can no longer pay for my coffee or message my local friends using Wechat. It’s just not used very much in America. (Something about security purposes and not wanting the Chinese government to constantly know what’s going on with their phones…but that’s a small price to pay for such convenience, no?)  

2.       Taobao

Not sure if this is my second-favorite Asian app  (I am rather fond of Didi, the ride sharing app), but I must admit that this particular app does eat away at my savings and is used fairly regularly by yours-truly: Taobao. This is the Asian version of Amazon and Ebay. In fact, Amazon does have a Chinese version, but not many people use the site. Especially not when they have Taobao or JD.

This site houses a variety of sellers and online stores that attempt to fulfill your every need and desire. Food, clothes, electronics, entertainment-related objects, books, and more can all be quickly and easily purchased and shipped to you within days. You can track your goods using the app, to see how far it is along in the shipping process, and the seller will even message you once it’s been given to the delivery companies. These messages tend to brighten my day, and not just because they are bringing my purchases one-step closer into being in my possession. They often bring me immense joy to read when translated by Google.

This app is even one of the main proponents of comfort when considering a bleak, worst-case-scenario future as a dotty-old single woman or a victim of a tragic accident in which I lose the function of my legs. I am no longer troubled by the possibility of becoming a shut in, house-bound, agoraphobic, or the Asian-version of Miss Havisham. Why? Because I can receive everything I need, and more, to survive through the wonder that is this app.

This amazing app, like most online shopping venues, contains things you never even knew were missing from your life. Some of these things are truly what dreams are made of, both the stuff of fantastical musings and the occasional nightmare. To better elaborate this point, let me share with you some of the gems I’ve stumbled upon in the last year. No, I haven’t purchased any of these items (yet). And, no, I'm also not entirely sure what all of these things are...

 

            

        

If I haven’t sold you on the extreme usefulness of this app, I’m not sure what else I can say or do to convince you. Who doesn’t want to interact with the occasional pushy Chinese shop owner because they’d like an outstanding online review? What do you mean you’ve never wanted to navigate a web browser entirely in Chinese in an attempt to receive a refund for that carton of heavy cream that exploded inside the cardboard box that was delivered to you? Who cares that it was only $6. That's your money! 

Ok, so it’s not a perfect system, but this app usually has more hits than misses. The sellers are failry interested in working with you and show great reliability and professionalism. Usually. I mean, something this convenient is worth the occasional mix-up or flub, right? I’d like to think it keeps the app humble. We wouldn’t want it to get a swell, over-popularized opinion of itself. I mean, it’s no Wechat.