Thousands of deputies to the National People's Congress (NPC) from across China are gathering in Beijing for the most important annual political event -- the annual legislative session -- with a host of proposals to be discussed, debated and pushed forward. [Special coverage]
NPC deputy Yu Chun, a bus driver from the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, wants to drive forward the concept of "cashless cities."
To that end, she took two hours during lunch break on Thursday to leave the premises of the Great Hall of the People and hit the streets of Beijing for a field inspection.
To start her journey, Yu scanned the QR code of a bicycle provided by a bike-sharing company near Houhai in downtown Beijing, and rode along the road to explore what cash-free experiences the city has in store for her.
She stopped at a shop and successfully bought a set of stamps and picture books using mobile online payment.
Along the road, ads about e-payment platforms online could be seen.
Buying a pot of yogurt or Tanghulu, Chinese snack of candied fruit, could be done with just a few clicks on a smart phone connected to the Internet and a bank account.
The scan-and-ride concept for commuting has been growing exponentially around China. Rental users continue to increase and are expected to reach at least 10 million by 2019, according to a 2016 China bike-sharing service report.
Yu's final stop was at the Peking University First Hospital, where patients can now register online for appointments without having to line up for hours.
The hard access to hospitals in China has been a pain in the neck for patients for decades, with scalpers profiting from the chaotic scenes of people queuing up outside hospitals. However, with the help of technology, people can now make an appointment without having to wait from early morning or even overnight to secure a spot at the beginning of the queue.
At present, more than 2,000 hospitals nationwide support online medical services through Alipay, one of China's largest online payment services.
Yu's hometown is the cradle of China's largest online retail giant, Alibaba, and her experience in Beijing has made her more confident about her proposal.
"Together with Hangzhou and Beijing, many cities in China are entering an era without cash. I believe people who live in remote areas will also enjoy the convenience and security brought by high technology in the future," she said.
China's online payment has seen explosive growth during the past few years.
Chinese third-party mobile payments market has tripled to 38 trillion yuan (about 5.5 trillion US dollars) in 2016, with 65 percent of Internet population using online payment.
