In Yinchuan, your face is your credit card. At first glance, Yinchuan may not seem the most obvious choice to be a “smart city” leader.
Its population of 1.5 million pales compared to that of Beijing (13 million) and Shanghai (24 million).
Wouldn’t it make more sense to start by making smart already developed cities, where citizens are more likely to benefit and participate?
“The problem is these cities are already too big. A blank canvas like Yinchuan can more flexibly adopt new technologies, and then “attract people that would otherwise have gone to Beijing or Shanghai.”
On the local buses, facial recognition software has replaced the fare box. Much like a fingerprint can unlock a smartphone, passengers’ faces are linked to their bank accounts, meaning boarding isn’t slowed by people fishing for exact change.
Public trash bins that run on solar power and double as compactors, allowing them to increase their capacity five-fold, are being trialed within the city’s Smart Community Project — an occupied “living lab” which acts as a mini-city within the city. The bins send out a signal when they’re full, so garbage collectors know when to empty them.
Grocery shopping is also, potentially, a thing of the past. Residents can order food via an app on their phone and, rather than wait at home for perishables to turn up, they can pick up their shopping at centrally located refrigerated smart lockers.
Holograms welcome visitors to the City Hall in Yinchaun,.Every interaction a citizen might have with the government — from getting a business license to renewing a passport — takes place here. Many processes that once required face-to-face meetings have been efficiently moved online.
That ethos applies to healthcare, too.Haodaifu Online is an internet portal that links doctors with patients, providing the latter with remote therapy and prescriptions. The service reduces overcrowding in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries.
