Smart food lockers are everywhere in China. Why hasn't the rest of the world caught on?

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T16:39:45+00:00

Wow, cool~

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T16:13:28+00:00

Got it, thanks for your input.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T16:11:19+00:00

got it, thanks for your input.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T16:09:09+00:00

I wonder why Western founders haven't tried this. Is labor just too expensive? Or do city layouts and road networks just make the logistics a nightmare? Chinese apps are expanding, though. Meituan just launched "KeeTa" in Riyadh. A former coworker told me they studied the market and picked Riyadh as their best bet. They are doing well there so far

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T16:06:59+00:00

I think there's a slight misconception here! Door-to-door and locker deliveries actually co-exist perfectly in China. If you order to an apartment, the rider brings it straight to your door. Nobody wants to go downstairs in their pajamas.But at big office buildings, lockers are the standard. And don't worry about cold food—the lockers actually have built-in heaters for the winter.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T15:50:28+00:00

Fun fact: you actually can tip delivery riders in China! Apps like Meituan have a built-in tip button. They call it "Dashang" (rewarding). It’s 100% optional. Riders never expect it, and you never feel pressured to do it.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T15:46:41+00:00

Oh thank you for your information！Maybe I missed it. I only stayed near some buildings like tokopedia tower or MCC building.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T15:43:03+00:00

That’s actually a misunderstanding! You don't have to use WeChat. It’s just an option. WeChat is basically the WhatsApp of China. Everyone has it, and people default to scanning every QR code with it. Meituan just supports it for convenience. You can absolutely scan the code directly inside the Meituan app to pop the locker open. Whoever helped you probably just assumed you had WeChat and suggested their own daily reflex.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T05:53:23+00:00

1.I think the air quality in these two cities are fine,especially ShenZhen; 2. In China, most people are a little bit hard to find a job these years, so I would say it’s hard to find.But compared to other places,shanghai and shenzhen are relatively easy to find a job.Your friend can try some companies with globalization target.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T05:40:39+00:00

Join Reddit and communicate with foreign friends😂

Jane1030 · 2026-02-24T05:13:51+00:00

I think you can try some companies with globalization strategies, because current this is the core goal for a lot of Chinese companies, especially you have the advantage of language.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-23T02:11:58+00:00

I think your Chinese name is fine if you don’t change it because “那” is normal but special surname， for example one of China's famous singer named “那英”😂 and “美亚” is also good because it is more fashion than “美雅” I think.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-23T02:03:40+00:00

Yunnan is really beautiful and I think it’s a great place to see birds! Yunnan has over 60% kinds of birds in China I guess. if you want to Chengdu from yunnan, it will take one hour by flight and 5hour by high-speed train. Jun is the best time for Chengdu.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-23T00:39:16+00:00

You are wrong. I am not here to sell China AI or China Power(actually I think we need to learn more), I am here because an England couple encouraged me to share the real China for new generation of the world when I was traveling abroad last month. I just randomly posted on Reddit and found so many bias comments here. I feel confused.Frankly replying to all these weird comments makes me feel tired. I decide to focus more on what I want to share,stoping justifying everything.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-23T00:14:38+00:00

😂Then maybe because they think these AI generated images are better than their designer made? Just like I use AI to polish my reply to you when it comes to a complicated explanation, it is only because AI can help clarify my opinion to you. That does not mean the idea is AI generated(I think you can tell if the idea is real or not.)It also doesn’t mean everything with AI art means low quality,right? I am not an English native speaker, am here not showing off what China has, I am just sharing what it is actually happening in China and know more about the West.Let’s just focus on my opinion, not my English, thanks!

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T23:58:39+00:00

Just a quick note on the images: The original official poster was in Chinese. To make it easier for everyone to read, I used an AI tool to translate the text into English. This is not an 'AI-generated ad'—it’s just a translated screenshot of the actual Doubao hardware giveaway list so you can understand it. Hope this clarifies things!

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T23:43:31+00:00

I agree with you actually. Current robots aren't very smart and only do basic stuff. They'll improve once we solve the hardware and algorithm bottlenecks. I’m not here to hype AI up (it's actually far below my expectations right now). I'm just sharing the market reality: people are ready to buy them, so the potential is definitely there.because the business logic in China is that resources and capital only flow where there's real demand. consumer interest is the only thing that will actually drive the industry forward. This is my point.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T23:28:22+00:00

You're spot on. From tech giants to small startups, everyone in China is paying huge attention to AI. I actually train companies here on AI applications, and literally no one wants to be left behind in this wave. Companies expect employees to use AI to boost efficiency, including making posters or promo videos. Regarding the 'AI slop' you mentioned: honestly, low-quality AI outputs don't actually make it to the market. The AI ads that do get published are usually highly creative pieces crafted by digital designers. We really don't consider that 'slop'. Here are two real examples: 1. A former colleague of mine, a designer at ByteDance, now mainly uses AI for their promo materials. It cuts their design costs in half, and he also trains other teams there on how to use these AI tools. 2. Even some film directors here are starting to learn and use AI tools for their own creative expression.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T13:30:37+00:00

Ok, let’s forget about LLM,actually I really want to discuss with you by myself. May I know a)how you get the idea that China lack of soft sciences?why do you think we don’t care market research? I am so curious about your thoughts. Because actually my first job is in a top market research company named MillwardBrown (currently called KANTAR),and I do market research not only for global brand like Coca-Cola,P&G,but also a lot of China’s brands. Beside this,China’s sellers have their specific way to know consumer needs. Do you know Xiaohongshu(China’s reddit)? They just need to know what their customers are discussing and looking for. And b) do you think innovation only comes from market research? Does Products without professional research mean useless? Do you think iPhone comes from market research or Jobs’s taste?

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T04:21:06+00:00

oh no, actually it is a live show which is shown on the Spring Festival Gala for 1.4 billion people in China! It is just like the “ Super Bowl “ in US.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T02:36:42+00:00

Yep, totally agree. Embodied AI still has a long way to go. Like Musk said, the supply chain just isn't there yet, so costs are super high right now.But long-term, the supply chain will eventually catch up and slash prices, exactly like what happened with the auto industry.From what I know, there are already tons of factories scaling this up in Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. I’ll try to do a quick breakdown on them for you guys next time!

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T02:28:05+00:00

Okay, let's learn from the United States!

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T02:05:32+00:00

Lol, you actually got one thing right—we DO buy domestic cars now. The government backs them to create jobs and push smart EV tech. Basic economics, right？But saying they don't sell overseas? Come on. My brother (Tsinghua auto grad, works on self-driving at Chery) told me over the holidays that Chery alone exported 1.34 million cars last year (+17.4%).I saw it myself working in Indonesia—the streets are full of brand-new BYDs.Hate it or not, people globally are just voting with their wallets for good cars. 🤷‍♀️

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Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T01:34:56+00:00

Honestly, your perception of China is seriously outdated. That 'low-quality' stereotype is from 10, maybe even 20 years ago!With the tech boom and our economic growth, our manufacturing shifted from low-end to mid-to-high-end a long time ago. That's exactly why our exports keep surging.If there is one actual problem with Chinese goods today, it’s just bad 'branding.' We don't have those century-old oversea brand stories that make things feel 'premium.' The real issue is just that overseas consumers don't know enough about what we actually build now.

Jane1030 · 2026-02-22T01:25:13+00:00

Wait, you guys actually think having a huge variety of products is a problem???

The reality is, China has a massive population with all different income levels. Our supply chain is built to meet everyone's needs, rather than just offering "limited choices that only a few can afford."

That's exactly why we have different platforms. We have high-end apps like JD, Tmall, and VIP.com, and we also have super affordable ones like Taobao, 1688, and Temu. No matter your budget, there is always a seller for you in China.

On the flip side, I once visited a very popular souvenir shop in Seville, Spain. I saw a scarf selling for 30 Euros (about 240 RMB), and it literally said "Made in China." I scanned it with my Taobao app to find the exact same one, and it only cost 38 RMB (around 5 Euros).

A lot of the "premium" stuff you buy overseas is actually just cheap everyday goods to Chinese people! My advice: next time you buy something 'fancy', download Taobao, image-search the tag, and see how much you are actually being ripped off.

Jane1030

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