Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition - December 2017

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DECEMBER 2017 businesstraveller.com

computing and human-machine interaction. As part of the

effort, the company will open seven research labs across the

globe: as well as Hangzhou, they’ll be located in Beijing,

Singapore, Moscow, Tel Aviv, and San Mateo and Bellevue

in the US.

Earlier this year, the company also unveiled a more

“off line” development. Despite making its name as an

e-retailer, July saw the launch of Alibaba’s “Tao Café”, an

unmanned shop concept that sees tills and cash replaced

bysmartphonepayments.ByscanningaQRcodeonthe

Taobaoappattheentranceofthestore,patronsaretracked

with cameras for facial recognition. Customers can then

automatically make a purchase through their smartphones

without needing to head to a register, and be able to leave

the store with their items in hand.

LEVERAGING MOMENTUM

Keen to capitalise on the presence and start-up spirit

of these tech giants, the city’s government has begun

to actively promote Hangzhou as a key technological

hub. According to the Hangzhou Tourism Commission