Round 2

After a long hiatus from this blog, gonna try and keep it updated more often this time for the friends and fam back home. It's been 5 years since the ESL journey started in Japan. Now after a short but awesome stay in Austria, it's back to Xi'an, China for a second year.



My first time in China, I didn't explore as many new places as I did in Indonesia or Austria, so that will be one of my goals. I'll use this blog to try and impart some of the knowledge I learn about history and culture as I travel around the country.

Since this is my second time in China, the usual adjustment to a new country hasn't been an issue, but in the short time I was away in Austria, a few things seemed to have changed. Electronic payment was popular before in China, but now it seems like every business accepts it. Taxis, motor cab tuk-tuks, and even the street food vendors have their little blue or green QR codes for you to scan and pay. My foreigner and Chinese friends alike say they almost never carry a wallet on them as they only need their phones.



Another thing that has changed in Xi'an is the transportation scene. Many subway lines are under construction to connect the city. Also, after staying in the USA for a little bit I saw many cities implementing bike sharing schemes to go green. Xi'an had its own last year but the number of companies and bicycles has swelled significantly this time around as you can see in the picture to the left. People scan a QR code that's on the bike to unlock it and then pay when they lock it up. But since there aren't any official bike hubs to lock them into a machine like what I saw in the USA, people will just leave them anywhere. Because someone just stopped needing it once they were halfway across a bridge I guess? Another cool thing that Xi'an has done has made it so that cars must stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. So people don't follow the law all the time, but I don't play human Frogger in traffic as much as before.

And lastly, it's good to see delivery food is as popular as ever. As you walk past any restaurant, you'll see the big 外卖 (waimai) companies ready to pick up and deliver with their motorcycles. I know China is big and all, so it should go without saying, but that's a lot of couriers waiting for food. It seems like  80% of motorcycles on the road are for  外卖. I never used this while in the USA so I don't know how big it is there, but it's so convenient to sleep in and then search almost any restaurant in Xi'an connected to the 外卖 apps and have the food delivered to your apartment door in about 30 minutes.

That's it for this first of hopefully many posts this coming year.