I am sure you have read before all about the grandness of China. But in these few lines, I would like to talk about two of the things that impressed me most on my first-ever visit to China: parks and QR codes.

Forget for a while anything you know about parks and using QR codes in your country. In China, they are totally different concepts. For me, they served as a great metaphor for how a society can evolve toward modernity without losing the traditional values that stitch it together harmoniously.

It all started with the tiny park in front of my hotel in Shenzhen. It was a small yet beautiful park, so one day, I decided to buy some dumplings and sit on a bench there to eat them for lunch. That's when the magic first struck me. An immediate sense of peace, harmony and tranquility enveloped me, even though I was in the middle of a tech metropolis. In silence, I thanked the park designers for creating such an oasis, where no matter how stressed one might be, in that park, one can't feel anything but at peace among the lovely grass, trees and birds chirping. Was I getting in touch deeply with fengshui? No matter what, after 10 or 15 minutes, I was renewed, energized to take the futuristic subway to reach another part of town.

Arriving at the subway station, I found QR codes everywhere and people using them in place of tickets. It being my very first day in China, I still didn't have my SIM card and Weixin Pay, the payment feature of the Weixin superapp, set up on my phone. So after reading every sign I could, I approached a very kind worker who taught me how to buy a ticket and scan it to enter. So, Day One in China: dumplings, a peaceful park, QR codes, and an ultramodern subway system. All coexisting perfectly and peacefully with one another.

After arriving in Beijing, I decided to experience another park, Yuyuantan. Wow. As dusk fell, couples started to get ready to dance, parents played with their kids, and enthusiasts were flying some of the most impressive kites I have ever seen. Then I realized that parks were not just a place to relax but a place for one to express oneself. In the parks, people were honing their talents, building social bonds, and experiencing the pure joy of being alive. It was inspiring. I wanted to find the source code of harmony and balance while living in this society.

I already had my SIM card and all must-have apps installed. My mobile phone had been converted into a super tool to access everything, from buying food to entering a high-speed train. Now the QR codes made more sense, and I started to understand how Chinese society uses them to make life simpler. Unlike what I see in other countries, in China, the mobile phone is primarily a tool to manage all tasks of day-to-day life. It is integrated into people's lifestyles, creating free time to invest in other areas to improve oneself. That is precisely what I thought smartphones should do when I first saw one in 2007. In China, that digital life I always hoped to see was an objective fact. A digital society was up and running. And there I was, inspired again.

And then that confluence of tradition and technology appeared in front of my eyes everywhere, every day. From my walks around hills by the famed West Lake in Hangzhou to my WiFi connection on the high-speed train to Shanghai. A harmonious coexistence between the past and the future, creating a present that inspired me and could inspire the world. A present that I wish my sons can experience.

The author is the founder and CEO of Meta Ventures, a Spain-based metaverse and technology research and development advisory 

Copyedited by G.P. Wilson 

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