Unique China: Flex payment technology 'empty-handed', netizens think it's 2050?

The phrase "China is living in 2050" has recently become a trend, associated with a video about a special payment method of the future.

The Economic Times (India) newspaper commented that China continues to lead in technological advances, especially in payment systems and infrastructure.

A recent Instagram video by Pakistani content creator Rana Hamza Saif shared his experience with a surprising payment method. In the video, Saif and his friends go to a grocery store in Zhuzhou City (Hunan Province, China). Saif’s friend makes a purchase using the palm payment system, leaving others in awe.

“If someone has registered their palm, they can pay anywhere in China with just a wave of their hand,” Saif explained. After the transaction, Saif’s friends were both skeptical and admiring of the technological leap.

Saif's video has garnered nearly 10 million views on Insta and is creating a buzz among netizens. "This is the future. I can't believe we're seeing it today!" - one commenter said. Many expressed hope that such innovations will spread globally.

Not only content creator Saif, businessman Harsh Goenka, Chairman of RPG Enterprises (headquartered in Mumbai - India), also shared a similar clip on X, showing how this technology is changing daily life in China.

In Mr Goenka’s video, a woman demonstrates how to use palm payment on the Beijing subway. “Living in China, I’m used to cashless payments using QR codes and even facial recognition technology. Now, I can even pay with my bare hands,” she says.

“Technology is making our lives simpler,” said Mr. Goenka. Tencent, the company behind China’s hugely popular WeChat platform, has emerged as a leader in adopting palm-based payments. According to Tencent, the solution is based on fingerprint and vein recognition.

The technology is being deployed to improve efficiency and user experience, especially for the elderly. In the coming time, the new technology will be provided in many different environments from offices, schools, restaurants to retail stores.

Facial recognition payments have been around for years, but using your palm is considered more convenient, especially when you’re wearing a mask or your phone is out of battery.

However, Tencent's palm payment method has also sparked controversy over security, as biometric data theft is increasingly common in China.

The service is currently only available to Chinese residents who have registered for WeChat Pay information verification. In mainland China, WeChat Pay users can register for the palm payment service from May 2023.

Most recently, in mid-September 2024, Tencent's contactless payment system continued to expand its scope of operations, becoming available in the Macau Special Administrative Region - China.

China has always maintained its position as a superpower, not only economically but also in the forefront of outstanding science and technology. One of these is bringing unique technology to a new level, installing 30,000 mirrors that can "chase" the sun, collecting heat for a tower as high as a nearly 60-story building, generating electricity day and night.

China Media Group (CMG) has released a video showing the entirety of this impressive project. The project is located in Guazhou County, Gansu Province, China. The two towers are 200 meters high (equivalent to a nearly 60-story building) with nearly 30,000 mirrors installed on the ground. The mirrors form many small to large circles, focusing sunlight on the two towers.

Like a traditional coal-fired power plant, concentrated sunlight heats water to generate electricity. But unlike other thermal power plants, this design can generate electricity at night. Molten salt stored inside the towers acts as a thermal battery, storing excess heat collected during the day and releasing it to the generator to run continuously.

The mirrors are made of special materials, with a reflection efficiency of up to 94%.

China got into solar thermal power in 2016, but this new project takes things a step further with its twin-tower design. “Mirrors in the surrounding area can shine on any tower,” explains Wen Jianghong, project manager for the plant. “This structure is expected to increase efficiency by 24 percent.”

The CMG video shows the mirrors' incredible ability to track the movement of the sun. In the morning, they focus the sun's rays on the east tower and automatically adjust to the west in the afternoon.

The innovative design is not limited to just two towers, CMG reports. It has the potential to extend to multiple towers for even greater efficiency. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2024.

The plant is part of a clean energy complex with solar, thermal and wind power plants working together to generate more than 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year and save 1.53 million tons of carbon emissions.