The China you experience today is far cry different than the one experienced back when it first opened its doors to foreigners, all of whom had packed their bags chock full with anticipation. Gone were days where WeChat hadn't yet become a household name - imagine an era without those QR codes we now so nonchalantly whip out and no longer even flinch at how others may glance upon them as if they're used for anything but being scanned in.
In the early stages, China didn’t have Alipay or any such payment options available. Rather it was entirely dependent on cash - an era which would be unfathomable to those who are now grown accustomed and reliant 24/7 access of their preferred choice pay features within a single click away from them via WeChat's very own built-in function, all thanks to the ever-glowing aura that has been Alipay. No e-Pay or Scan options existed as well - just pure cold hard cash which was more often than not being held captive by anxious tellers behind ATMs at banking hours.
It’s a truth no one can deny: China is now far removed from what it used to be in terms of both speed and availability, the sheer velocity with which this land has transformed itself over these past few years into an unrecognizable entity. No longer are we stuck waiting for ages upon end - instead everything happens swiftly within seconds thanks not only modern conveniences but rather because China’s got no time left where it can be said “all good things come to he who waits.”
The era of QQ has long since given way, as the world clambered onto WeChat like a newly minted prom queen. With everyone on board now there is an increasing amount happening every single day and that's why so many expats have opted for life within China’s borders - in part due to its unrelenting march into modernity without looking back at what existed before it.
China no longer remains the land where only QQ held court as a bygone era of yesteryear when MSN Messenger was just about getting off mark. The introduction of WeChat marked an epochal shift which brought China right up to speed with its counterparts across global divide - from here on out nothing short is expected but a meteoric rise into stratosphere for all who hold this newfangled mobile marvel close.
We cannot forget the hurdles that lay ahead, as we wend our way through these narrow lanes now teeming with life like an oasis in desert land. Where once upon time just plain old cash did suffice to get us by and WeChat was nothing short of a novelty it has become de rigor for China’s citizens - they are not going anywhere else if their smartphone is out.
In recent years, the growth rate at which this explosion took place beggars any description now: As we speed towards an unknown future via our daily routine with fingers typing away on these sleek new portable marvels. No matter how hard it was to take in all those yeares ago when MSN Messenger became WeChat's antecedent - China’s gotten used not just expats but the world at large, like some sort of self-discovery voyage into an evolved tomorrow as our very own time-traveling worm hole now.
The future is shrouded mystery and we are still peeling off layers to understand its full impact upon global affairs: And while there remain many a thing yet unimagined - this certainly doesn’t mean China’s current position within such can be anything but promising. At the end of it all though, expats who have been around for some time now will note that their own discovery has also contributed in no small part to write off what was once an arduous trudge through Red Tape as these mountains were made into mere molehills thanks largely due WeChat and various other factors like Alipay which we cannot help but surmise did assist us along our journey's twists & turns, all lending credence that this isn't just some isolated episode - China has come a long way since the 80s.
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