From drones to robots: tourists flock to China to glimpse a ‘cyberpunk’ future
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3323509/drones-robots-tourists-flock-china-glimpse-cyberpunk-future
From drones to robots: tourists flock to China to glimpse a ‘cyberpunk’ future
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3323509/drones-robots-tourists-flock-china-glimpse-cyberpunk-future
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> When Marc Guyon, a French national based in Hong Kong, decided to visit Shanghai in early August, the main attraction was not the city’s art deco architecture, but its **driverless taxis and hotel delivery robots.**
> “It’s super impressive – China looks futuristic,” he said. “It seems like all expats have the same reaction. Many of them share content online, and so do I.”
> This kind of reaction is becoming increasingly common as China experiences a wave of “tech tourism” – a social media-driven trend where visitors fly into the country specifically to seek out its **advanced technology and urban landscapes.**
> China has seen a boom in foreign tourism over the past couple of years as it has relaxed its border policies, with citizens of dozens of countries now allowed to stay in the country **for up to 10 days without a visa.**
> That has dovetailed with a parallel explosion in social media posts about travelling in China. On TikTok, the number of videos tagged “#chinatravel” has climbed to more than 215,000, with nearly three-quarters of them uploaded within the past year.
> Many of the most viral posts paint China’s biggest cities as “science-fiction” destinations, highlighting scenes that feel futuristic to many overseas viewers: **palm payment systems, drones delivering takeout, driverless taxis zooming through the streets.**
I actually know quite a few people who absolutely love these beautiful futuristic/cyberpunk cities [like Qingdao](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThatsInsane/s/Rw8OoeBqdh) and how intricate and insanely well designed they are, [like Chongqing.](https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/s/pBCi2m5upn)
For example, look at this massive, futuristic [train station in Chongqing](https://old.reddit.com/r/megalophobia/comments/1n34dhu/train_station_in_chongqing_china/) and this [intricate drone show at night.](https://old.reddit.com/r/megalophobia/comments/1n2akq0/drone_show_in_chongqing_china/)
[Steph Curry is touring in China right now and got to experience a personalized drone show celebration last week.](https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/steph-curry-china-drone-show/1868644/)
Its literally as if you teleported into the year 2100.
Does that mean America can expect an uptick in tourism because some people want to see a dystopian hell? Look honey! Those people don’t have access to healthcare and dentists! Don’t forget to take a water filter because they long since stopped following science! And thank god for our polio vaccines because they managed to bring that back.
All the bright and shiny trinkets won’t be worth a damn when you express the slightest disdain for how the government is carrying itself. The people are living on borrowed grace at the CCP’s pleasure.
Same goes for UAE; why people flock to a country that continues to grow on the backs of thousands of dead slave laborers and draconian laws backed by a fossil fuel industry is bonkers.
TIL, as someone who lives in Shanghai, that there are driverless taxis here lol.
the cyberpunk genre is always a dystopia. So that’s fitting.