What's hot in China's sharing economy
共享经济已经烧红了半边天,继共享单车出现后,共享篮球、共享充电宝、共享雨伞等服务形式也开始如雨后春笋般兴起。
The bike-sharing industry has brought many lifestyle changes in China. But also importantly, the business has inspired entrepreneurs in other industries. From basketball to umbrella, let's take a look at what's hot inthe booming sharing sector.
Bike-sharing
While bike-sharingis no rarity[1]inother parts of the world, the Chinese versionhas given a whole new meaningto the concept, with customers able topick a bikeanywhere in the city (thanks tothe GPS-enabled app) and leave it anywhere at the end of their journey.
[1]rarity:something that is very unusual, or the quality of being very unusual 罕见的东西(或人);稀有,罕见
Men who do the cooking are something of ararity.
做饭的男人还真是少见。
Diamonds are valuable because of theirrarity.
钻石贵重是因为它很稀有。
The conceptis all the rage[2]among students and young professionals across the nation for being convenient, green and cheap. An average 30-minute ride costs 0.5 yuan ($7 cents) to one yuan.
[2]be all the rage:[old-fashioned]to be very popular at a particular time 风靡一时;非常时兴;十分流行
Long hair for menwas all the ragein the 70s.
在70年代,男人留长发风靡一时。
Shared bikes have become the newest battlefield for global capital, with large amounts of investment flowing into thebilling-on-time[3]bike-rental mobile applications.
[3]按时计费
Umbrella-sharing
Molisan,a Shanghai-based start-up, haslaunched umbrella-sharing servicesin the metro in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, and Fuzhou, East China's Fujian province.
Customers can rent umbrellas by payinga refundable depositandscanning a QR code.
The scheme charges a 20 yuan ($2.90) deposit payable via WeChat. The rental period is 15 days, which renters can renewfor three additional daysafter which they will be charged a late penalty of 0.5 yuan per day.
Charger-sharing
Xiaodian, a phone charger start-up, recently announced a $50 million Series B financial round led bySequoia China CapitalandBanyan Capital[4], with Tencent as a participating investor.
[4]Sequoia China Capital:红杉资本中国基金
2005年9月,德丰杰全球基金原董事张帆和携程网原总裁兼CFO沈南鹏与Sequoia Capital (红杉资本)一起始创了红杉资本中国基金(Sequoia Capital China)。
红杉资本于1972年在美国硅谷成立。在成立之后的30多年之中,红杉作为第一家机构投资人投资了如Apple, Google, Cisco, Oracle, Yahoo, Linkedin等众多创新型的领导潮流的公司。在中国,红杉资本中国团队目前管理约20亿美元的海外基金和近40亿人民币的国内基金,用于投资中国的高成长企业。
Banyan Capital:高榕资本
高榕资本是一家新兴的风险投资机构,专注于TMT行业种子期和成长期投资。高榕资本投资团队曾主导投资了多家优秀公司,包括小米科技、91助手、3G门户、土豆、暴风影音、蘑菇街等。
People can find the company's nearbycharging stationsthrough its app, as well as WeChat and Alipay accounts.
After scanning a QR code, users can start charging their phones. Payment is processed through WeChat Pay or Alipay.
Basketball-sharing
A company in Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang province, recently launched a basketball-sharing service.
The company has introduced severalpilot lockerswith basketballs at the city's public and campus courts. Users can borrow and return a basketball through the company's WeChat account after paying a 29-yuan ($4.2) deposit. One basketball costs 1.5 yuan for half an hour.
The lockers are equipped with a camera to ensure the process runs smoothly. According to the company, the lockers can also be used tostore personal items.