During the Lunar New Year holiday, drones delivering food came in and out of various parks in Shenzhen. In addition, self-service coffee and juice machines and self-shower booths were often seen. As smart facilities are introduced in parks one after another, people are constantly visiting.
Shenzhen, known as the “City of 1,000 Parks,” has introduced smart devices such as delivery drones to the parks in recent years. The number of citizens and tourists visiting the parks to experience this is also increasing.
“It was my first time making a drone delivery, and the milk tea arrived about 20 minutes after I ordered it. The ice didn’t melt at all. It was very comfortable.” A citizen who had a holiday in Shenzhen on the 2nd experienced drone delivery at Bijasan Sports Park, where he visited with his child. Whenever a drone flew in with food, many travelers gathered around the landing zone and took pictures. Many citizens couldn’t stand it and scanned the QR code to experience it. The Meituan Drone Sun Yecheong Station, the takeoff and landing site of the Bijasan Sports Park route, is busy from 10 a.m. until the closing hours of the business in the afternoon. Wangshin and his colleagues constantly bring lunch boxes, pack food, and replace batteries. Wangshin explained that using drones is the best option for some park tourist destinations where delivery is inconvenient. He added that the number of drone delivery orders here is increasing every year on holidays.
About 10 drone delivery routes are in place at parks including Bisan Sports Park and Shenzhenwan Park. According to statistics, daily orders for Meituan drones per route during the Lunar New Year holiday have reached about 200 this year. This means that delivery drones land about every two minutes during operation time at tourist landing sites. Popular menus include milk tea, juice, chicken, and hamburger.
Mrs. Zhao, who traveled with her family, purchased coffee beans in front of the Kappa coffee machine installed in Xiangmi Park. About 60 seconds later, a steaming cup of coffee beans was completed.
“In the past, there were few places to sell things at parks and there were few delivery shops that were open during Chinese New Year holidays. Now, people can enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice and coffee made on site. Now, they have more options and can use the parks more conveniently.” Zhao explained. Hundreds of self-service coffee machines are installed at 30 parks in Shenzhen. Robotic coffee booths, which provide 24-hour service, enable consumers to manufacture dozens of beverages through artificial intelligence (AI) and mechanical arm models. Consumers can enjoy the amazing scenery of making coffee with the freely rotating mechanical arms.
In Shenzhen, a round self-driving car mixed with gray and black attracted many tourists. Up to six people can board the vehicle with L4 (designated area autonomous driving) technology. Tourists can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the park through the vents and sunroof of the vehicle.
In Shenzhen, the park has been transformed into a space that leads the development of a “smart park” beyond a space of rest. In addition, science and technology are being applied to consumption, entertainment, and sports and leisure. In addition to the existing smart gyms and tracks, smart shower booths have been set up in parks such as Lian Volcano Park.
The smart shower booth, which is about 5.4㎡ in area, encompasses functions such as washing, dressing tables, shelves, de-escalation, and cold and hot water showers. A citizen said, “I was able to take a shower for only 5 yuan after running in the park, so I was able to carry out my next schedule in a refreshing state.”
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
