STORY: Mobile payments convenient in China's Shenyang: foreign travelers
SHOOTING TIME: July 7, 2024
DATELINE: July 11, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:25
LOCATION: SHENYANG, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Shenyang
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): MA SUMEI, American tourist
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SZABOLCS PANG ORBAN, Hungarian tourist
4. various of Shenyang

STORYLINE:

The city of Shenyang in northeast Liaoning Province has become a popular destination for foreign travelers as China implements 72/144-hour transit visa-free policies for foreign nationals from 54 countries.

International travelers have given their thumbs-ups to China's mobile payment experience.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): MA SUMEI, American tourist
"Everyone in Shenyang is using Alipay now. It's very convenient to buy tickets, take a taxi or order a takeaway. If I have foreign friends in China, I'll tell them to download Alipay. Anyway, all you need is a mobile phone and a power bank."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SZABOLCS PANG ORBAN, Hungarian tourist
"If I need a taxi, I go on Alipay, I order a taxi. If I want to go to public transportation, you do this, and it's different than what we have in Europe. In Europe, this city has this, that city has that. (With) Alipay, I can go wherever I want in China.
It was always upgraded and upgraded. Now Alipay has functions like English (translation). You have a translation function in Alipay, so that means if you go somewhere and you see, I cannot read it, you press translating, the app is translating.
So, of course, there will be always improvement and I'm looking forward to the next improvement for Alipay. But already, right now, Alipay is for me easy to use and very customer-friendly."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Shenyang, China.
(XHTV)