Ancient town gets smart makeover

An Internet hospital recently opened in Wuzhen, offering online medical services for residents. [Photo/Xinhua]

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

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.