Trending in Beijing: A Snowy Start to 2021, WeChat Bugs Out, and is Your Didi Driver Vaccinated?

Robynne Tindall, Contributing Editor | Jan 20, 2021 4:30 pm | Add a comment | 485 reads

The fun, the strange, and the what-on-earth-is-this? Trending in Beijing is a wrap-up of top stories in Beijing as told by the trending hashtags, local press, and general power of the internet.

Beijing sees first snowfall of 2021, internet explodes

Even before you opened your curtains on the morning of Tuesday, Jan 19 you would have known that Beijing had its first snowfall of 2021 from the sheer amount of posts on WeChat Moments and Weibo. For a city that rarely sees humidity rise above 30 percent in winter, it's no wonder people get a little excited at the first sign of snow (although some were less than enthused, as our very own Mike Wester expressed succinctly in this video).

Below are a few of our favorite snowy photos posted online:

Is WeChat bugged or do you just have no friends?

On Monday, Jan 18, the internet lit up with chatter about a potential bug on WeChat. People reported that their contacts weren't receiving their messages, and they weren't receiving any messages either (if only...). Naturally, this was the end of the world for many people, with the hashtag #微信bug# quickly attracting 750 million views.

Apparently, the issue lasted for about 20 minutes, with chats soon returning to normal. Not everyone experienced the bug and as one Weibo user astutely put it: "Other people haven't received any messages because of the bug. You haven't received any messages because no-one wants to talk to you."

Later on Monday, WeChat issued the following official statement on Weibo:

#WeChatbug# Our apologies. Due to a system jitter, at around 2pm today, some users encountered a delay in receiving messages. The issue has now been fixed. Ps. There's nothing wrong with your home WiFi.

This is a timely reminder that if you use your WeChat for work purposes — and, let's face it, who doesn't these days — you should frequently backup your chats (or at the very least, take screenshots). Find the backup option in "Settings > General > Backup & Migrate Chats > Backup to computer."

More than 40,000 Didi drivers receive first vaccine dose

On Jan 16, China Daily reported that as of 2pm on the same day, 46,787 Didi and Hua Xiaozhu drivers had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, out of more than 100,000 who are in line for their jab (side note: if there are that many drivers, how is it still so difficult to get a car sometimes?). In a statement posted on their Weibo and Official WeChat Accounts, Didi thanked the epidemic prevention department for its "guidance and deployment and scientific organization," as well as its drivers for their "active cooperation in speeding up the implementation of vaccination." Weibo users were quick to praise this comprehensive vaccination coverage, saying that they felt safer using ride-hailing services knowing that drivers had been vaccinated. Now, when you get a Didi, there is a little sticker over the driver's name indicating if they've already had the vaccine — if not, they must have a negative COVID-19 test.

While Didi's progress in getting their employees vaccinated is doubtlessly a good thing, the news, unfortunately, follows a report earlier this month about the company getting hit with a fine to the tune of RMB 1.07 million after a number of their drivers tested positive for the coronavirus. All told, Didi incurred 96 violations, while its subsidiary, Huaxiaozhu had 12. Those violations included drivers and passengers failing to wear masks, and drivers failing to disinfect their cars or provide proper ventilation.

Images: Pixabay, Weibo