University stores are central to campus life. They usually sell everything a student might need for class or dorm room. Living on the Tsinghua University campus, I enjoy shopping at the university stores. Past shopping excursions have added university logo jackets, hoodies and stylish backpacks to my wardrobe. I usually also grab necessities at the same time.

It has always been an adventure shopping in C Center, the big campus store in the basement of the C-shaped building near the students' dormitories. I never knew quite what I'd find in stock when I wandered in, but I knew it would have a generous selection, sprinkled with a bit of dust and old-fashioned displays. It strongly reminded me of my own American university's campus store from 40 years ago.

It was a shock to see the store during the spring semester.

The formerly dingy stairs leading to it appeared to have a makeover and were brightly lit. The landing wall was spruced up with a large cork bulletin board for students to post notes on the provided cat-shaped sticky notes. At the bottom, I was greeted by a big, red-trimmed doorway topped by shiny metal stripes that formed the silhouette of a cat's head. I recognized the Tmall cat logo!

Gone were the many narrow aisles piled high with a dizzying variety of goods. Gone was the office supply area that seemed to have everything from art supplies to erasers crammed into it. Gone was the huge selection of hoodies, tee shirts, backpacks and tea thermoses emblazoned with the university logo that held down one whole side of the store.

Inside, it was clean and orderly, with signs in both Chinese and English denoting the goods in various areas. Each wide aisle began with red signage emblazoned with the Tmall cat logo and the store's motto, "Young, Fresh, Fun." The huge, rather haphazard selection was gone, replaced with a more carefully curated supply of goods—well-lit and nicely organized—on bright white shelves. Even the ceilings had been remodeled and the cranky flickering fluorescent lights changed to softer, recessed lights.

The area for fresh fruits used to be a small table watched over by a clerk who directed students as they filled a plastic produce bag and then weighed the bags. Now, it is well stocked with delicious choices that are also fresh, healthy and nutritious to tempt the hard-studying students. It fits right in with the "fresh" part of the store motto. Nearby, a large refrigerated section taking up half of a side wall also has many choices, from heat-and-serve meals to tea and yogurt drinks.

One side of the aisles is dedicated to food and drink, the other to supplies and sundries for classes, dorm rooms and personal care. The bewilderingly extensive beauty supplies of the old store have been winnowed down to higher-quality items for both men and women and the stacks of dorm essentials are now neatly displayed and easy to find.

On my way out, I found the tired old checkout area refreshed with two counters full of interactive self-check screens that can send buyers on their way quickly and efficiently. They are monitored by a couple of helpers who are there to assist newcomers with things such as where to find the shopping bags and the method of checkout. I was happy for the help since the instructions on screen are only in Chinese characters and while I can read a little bit, I am still learning.

They haven't forgotten to include a regular checkout aisle, with a clerk on hand for those that need a little extra help or just want to pay with cash, though when I was there on a weekend afternoon, it was empty. Since it is Tmall, Alipay is the only choice for the digital payment line.

Just outside the checkout area are new automated food and beverage machines, more modern than those on the average U.S. college campus. Drink machines range from fresh-squeezed orange juice to a coconut drink machine full of actual coconuts. Talk about fresh coconut milk! The largest and most interesting is a vending machine with a robot that makes small pizzas to order. If the robot gets an expanded selection of toppings, it might give real competition to traditional pizza delivery. And it doesn't have to be paid overtime for working late into the night since the store doesn't close until 11 p.m.

While I will miss the old store and its wide-ranging selection of goods, not to mention the option to use my WeChat wallet, I find the new store to be a refreshing change. This new version is a leap into a future world that, in China, is here now.

The author is an American working in Beijing

Copyedited by Sudeshna Sarkar

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