Blockchain Chicken Farm: And Other Stories of Tech in China's Countryside by
Xiaowei Wang
My rating:
4 of 5 stars
I think this would have made 2 excellent books. One could have been about tech in rural China, focusing on the different areas mentioned in the book (blockchain, AI, drones, online orders, etc.) while the other could be a very interesting travelogue, detailing the different scenes, people, experiences, etc. encountered by the author throughout China. As it stands, it had extremely interesting content, but felt rather disjointed. I confess I'm still not sure about the random recipes interspersed throughout.
Having said that, this book should probably be required reading for anyone outside China who is interested in an update on what is going on tech-wise, especially outside of the big cities, and how tech is affecting everyday lives.
I was looking for more examples of how blockchain technology was being used in rural China, especially after having seen a story about how it was being used in rural Taiwan, so I was a bit disappointed that it didn't have more on that, but the rest of the material was still quite fascinating.
One story that stuck with me was about the author, when staying among the Dong (Kam) people, having tried a spicy paste they liked so much that they asked if they could buy it. This caused confusion, since the people in the village weren't used to this type of commerce and weren't prepared to sell to outside markets. In the end the boss put some of the paste in an empty Sprite bottle for them to carry. When asked how much it cost, the person thought about it, and replied, "Would RMB 10 be a fair price? Also, can you pay me on Wechat?". This really brought home the juxtaposition of rural life and modern technology for me.
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