Sharing ventures bubbling in China

BACKED by a torrent of venture capital, China has gone sharing mad, with everything from treadmills to karaoke booths and napping capsules all up for shortterm rent – all with a smartphone.

Some of these ventures include electric scooters, phone chargers, work spaces, umbrellas ( below), and basketballs.

With the boom spawning some novel ideas, but also warnings of a sharing ‘ bubble’ in the world’s second-largest economy, AFP lists a number of the services that have come (and gone) in China in the last 18 months.

Two-wheel menace? Brightly-coloured bicycles kicked off the sharing craze last year, and have since threatened to take over pavements and streets.

That sparked a backlash, and Beijing and Shanghai are among the cities that moved to lay down regulations.

At least two Chinese bikesharing services have gone bust, and it is not uncommon to see officials carting bikes off to a fate unknown.

Treadmill in a box Forget the sweaty gym, and look no further than a grandly-named ‘shared sports warehouse’ – actually a treadmill inside a black-and-yellow glass-encased box.

The company behind the scheme, which just launched, says there are 10 of the pods in Beijing, and thankfully, they come complete with air conditioning, plus a television to break the monotony.

Rude awakening Instead of heading home for a rest, overworked office staff were encouraged to pop in for a snooze at a shared napping capsule (you don’t actually share it at the same time with a stranger).

But no sooner had these cozy coffin-type structures popped up, the company behind them had a rude awakening when Shanghai authorities quickly closed them down and dismantled them, citing them as a fire risk.

Life of luxury Experts say that while China is becoming increasingly wealthy, many people remain very costfocused.

So rather than shelling out for the handbag of your dreams, why not just borrow one?

Companies renting out top European brand handbags say it also means users are guaranteed that they are getting the real thing, not a cheap knock-off.

Just don’t spill any wine on it.

Subway KTV Karaoke (KTV) booths are springing up in shopping centres and subways, taking China “by storm”, says state media.

Thankfully they are more or less sound-proof, meaning wannabe pop stars can croon away as loud as they want, and the pods allow you to record yourself and upload your performance to your phone – so you can annoy your friends later. – AFP-Relaxnews