Reward system boosts communications, efficiency

One villager offered 600 reward points for information about a ginger cat's whereabouts: "Missing for two days. Lost near a footbridge. Contact me if you see it or have any information."

A photo, in which the cat lay yawning while sunbathing, was attached to the message.

Another resident wanted to exchange 300 points for two COVID-19 test kits. "Worried that I am positive. Alone at home and dare not venture outside. Can someone bring me two test kits and place them outside Room 691?"

These messages were posted on an online forum by residents of Meilin village, a futuristic rural community in the east of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, where the strawberry fields are equipped with solar-powered surveillance cameras to track their growth. Users log onto the forum via an account shared by members of their family.

The forum is part of a broader push to go digital by the authorities in Hangzhou, where the tech giant Alibaba is headquartered, to help make grassroots governance more efficient.

Villagers can earn points by sorting their garbage carefully, volunteering their services or simply lending their neighbors a helping hand.

The credits can be exchanged for items ranging from toilet paper to cooking oil, and can also be used as a form of payment when residents want help from other people.

Kong Gaomin, the village Party chief, said the points-for-help function is just part of what the forum has to offer.

"People can also lodge complaints or make suggestions," she said, noting that the messages can be seen on a giant screen that stands in the village hall, which she referred to as the "digital cockpit". "When we see a complaint, we can quickly send someone to deal with it," she added.

Scrolling across the screen, a message said that a road lamp was out of service, while another flashed up to alert village officials that the landscaping along a trail in the village was suffering from neglect.

An introductory leaflet to the program said that the points can also serve as the basis for bank credit.

A total of 14.23 million points have been handed out, and some 8.69 million have been exchanged for gifts worth 145,000 yuan ($20,276).

"The points have lent leverage to social governance," the leaflet said.

Villager Zhu Lihua said that at the peak her account had more than 300,000 points, which she earned mostly through strict garbage sorting.

"I also earned some through voluntary work during the COVID-19 lockdown," said the 50-year-old, who runs an excavator-leasing company with her husband.

Wei Laifa, who runs a packing business in the village, said, "With the points on offer, fewer and fewer villagers neglect to sort through their garbage."

In Tangdi, an orchid-growing community in the nearby city of Shaoxing, a similar digital governance system has been deployed to analyze the origins of its visitors as part of the village's ambition to foster tourism.

The system can also be used to alert village officials about dangers involving seniors who are childless or whose children are living away from them.

"We have sensors installed on their doors," said Zhu Wenqing, a village official. "If the door doesn't open for more than 24 hours, the system sends text messages to their children or village officials," she said.

The success of such systems is inspiring more villages to follow suit. Houchen, a settlement in Jinhua city, is building a similar system that is being funded by subsidies from the local government. Chen Lingfang, a Houchen official, said the system was set to be rolled out very soon.

Chen said that she expected the innovation to improve efficiency in the collection of public opinion and strengthen communication among neighbors and between villagers and officials.

"Most people have smartphones and they are getting used to digitalization," she said. "After all, this is the digital era. If we don't march ahead, we will be left behind."