3 minute read
DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
RANDOM NUMBER
540.3 billion…
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…That’s how much gross merchandise volume in RMB Alibaba made in the first 11 days of November, 2021. This time period culminates in ‘singles day’ on November 11, China’s biggest shopping holiday. The figure is equivalent to approximately USD84.5 billion and represents an 8.5% increase on the same period of time in 2020. However, some analysts have stated that the increase is slightly lower than expected, as reported by CNN.
‘Singles day’ is believed to have started with male Chinese university students celebrating being bachelors. Nowadays, it’s more commonly associated with shopping as many mainly young people look for online bargains within a 24-hour time period.
Since the shopping day began, Alibaba’s ‘singles day’ sales have only grown through their online shopping platforms such as Taobao and TMALL.
DON’T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?
Yiyang Qianxi
Yiyang Qianxi, also known by his English name Jackson Yee, is a Chinese pop singer who made his debut with teen idol group TFboys aged just 12 years old. Yee regularly appears on variety shows, commercials, movies and more. Recently, he released the official song for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Together for a Shared Future is the namesake of the official Winter Olympic slogan. The song was released on November 15 accompanied by a music video starring Yee, as well as showing Winter Olympic-related activities within Beijing. The Chinese capital will host the games in February and March 2022. By doing so, Beijing will become the first ‘double-Olympic city’ to have hosted both the summer and winter games.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
Said Chinese director Yang Ting. Yang has turned the 2019 South Korean black comedy thriller movie Parasite into a stage play produced by a Chinese production team.
Tickets went on sale on November 3. The play will be shown in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen.
Parasite won four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards. The movie follows the Kim family who live in an impoverished neighborhood of Seoul. Determined to find his way out of poverty, the Kims’ son Ki-woo takes a tutoring job with the wealthy Park family. However, he ends up getting slightly more than he bargains for.
Thanks to Yang and her team, the story is now being brought to a Chinese audience through a stage performance starring Chinese actor Ma Tianyu and actress Hao Lei.
CHINESE CORNER
Alipay, or 支付宝 (Zhīfùbǎo): 7 Most Popular Features
Alipay app, known as 支付宝 (Zhīfùbǎo) in Chinese, is an online payment app that belongs to Alibaba Group ( 阿里巴巴 Ālǐbābā), the creator of Taobao ( 淘宝Táobǎo). It was established in Hangzhou in 2013, but now its headquarters are in Shanghai. In 2015, Alipay overtook PayPal as the world’s largest mobile payment platform. One of the most popular services on Alipay is, no doubt, online payments. But similarly to WeChat ( 微信 Wēixìn), Alipay is not just a payment app. The two are competing to be all-in-one, lifestyle platforms that people can use (and never leave) to conduct all their day-to-day activities. So, what are Alipay’s most popular features?
1. UTILITY PAYMENTS
生活缴费 Shēnghuó Jiǎofèi
USE IT TO… Connect your account and pay for your water, gas, and electricity bills with automatic utility payments.
2. HELLOBIKE, BIKE SHARING SERVICE
哈罗出行 Hāluó Chūxíng
USE IT TO… Rent shared bikes with your Alipay account without a deposit.
3. TOP-UP CENTER
充值中心 Chōngzhí Zhōngxīn
USE IT TO… Top up your phone credit and purchase internet traffic packages.
4. ELEME, FOOD DELIVERY SERVICE
饿了么 Èleme
USE IT TO… Order food delivery from popular restaurants within Alipay app.
5. TICKET SERVICE
电影演出 Diànyǐng Yǎnchū
USE IT TO… Buy movie and event tickets with Alipay’s ticket service.
6. “ANT FOREST” PROJECT
蚂蚁森林 Mǎyǐ Sēnlín
USE IT TO… Go green and collect “green energy points” as rewards for your eco-friendly actions across other apps in Alibaba’s “Ant Forest” project.
7. MONEY TRANSFERS
转账 Zhuǎnzhàng
USE IT TO… You can easily send money to friends, as well as pay in online & offline shops with your unique QR code (二维码 èrwéimǎ). Purchases on Taobao and Tmall are also processed via Alipay.
To learn more phrases & practice with Chinese teachers at That’s Mandarin, scan this QR code.
