Heads in a cloud

From sales to classes to meetings, people move lives online to stay safe

The COVID-19 outbreak forced a sudden pause on the lives of everyone. People began practicing social distancing, and many had to work at home, living the new “cloud life”. In order to reduce their commuting times and staff concentration, “cloud offices” and “cloud meetings” are becoming popular work forms; “cloud classrooms” in primary and secondary schools and colleges across the nation are conducted through live broadcasts, recordings, videos and other online teaching utilities.

Brick-and-mortar stores have transformed themselves to ensure their survival, with more frequent use of online shopping systems that have witnessed a boom of derivative business models, such as contactless distribution and live broadcast sales pitches.

Online retail platforms that turned their focus to delivery of fresh produce are among the most popular businesses, with online order books bursting at the virtual seams. Some are even dealing with more purchases beyond their usual capacity.

Short video platforms saw a rise in traffic, with reality shows connecting people via video call setting the current trend.

From offline to online, our society now has its head in the “cloud” in a way that pushes the advancement of people’s social lives to new frontiers, and has injected new momentum into the continued development of the social economy.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, in the first two months, despite an overall drop in China’s total retail sales of consumer goods, online retail sales have enjoyed a growth of 5 percent year-on-year, and the production index of the information service industry has increased by 3.8 percent.

At present, epidemic prevention and control measures have proved effective and, as springtime blooms anew, people’s pause button is unpressed and production rushes to make up for lost time. However, the “cloud” life — and wearing pyjamas to “work” — has irrefutably become the new normal.

From left: Fitness trainer Yao Zhiwen teaches online in Changsha; Zhu Xia sells clothes on e-commerce platform Mushroom Street. Anchors like Zhu provide audiences with a more intuitive shopping experience; a staff member at Aige Flower Base in Changsha’s Yuelu district sells flowers via webcast.

Clockwise from top left: A staff member at Hunan Xinhua Bookstore’s warehouse prepares for online orders; an art teacher at a college in Changsha, Hunan, conducts an online sketching class; a real estate agent in Changsha broadcasts live in a sample room; disco dancing goes online at a bar in Changsha.

From top: In Hunan Provincial Cultural Center, volunteers record epidemic prevention exercises; a delivery rider comes to pick up the food in a restaurant.