It’s official: 2016 is finally over. From celebrity deaths to surpise elections, no one could have predicted how it went. That certainly is true for us at TechNode as well. After delving into our top posts for many different verticals, we all agree that 2016 was disappointing, unpredictable, but also amazing in it’s own way.
In that spirit, we present you with our top 10 “other” stories: stories that don’t fit our usual categories.
1. This Chinese Lingerie Startup Crowdsources Their Underwear Models
Shanghai-based startup O2 (氧气) crowdsources their lingerie ads from their users. For every three sets of lingerie photographed, models receive one set for free. O2 calls their models “lingerie experience masters.”
2. Chinese Delivery Companies Are Selling ‘Empty’ Packages To Boost E-Commerce Sales
An investigative report by The Beijing News revealed China’s illegal market of “empty package scalping” (空包刷单, our translation), whereby shop owners on Taobao and Tmall inflate their sales statistics though fake package deliveries by using “empty package” service websites and delivery services.
3. Chinese New Year Special: Top 3 Memes For The “Year of the Monkey”
猴腮雷 (housailei, the Cantonese pronunciation for “very impressive” or “intense”)， 六小龄童 (Liu Xiao Ling Tong, the stage name of Zhang Jinlai, famous for portraying the Monkey King), and 耍猴 (shuahou or “putting on a monkey show”) all made the list of monkey memes. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for the Year of the Chicken!
4. Meet The Chinese Tinder-Like Sugar Daddy Dating App For Students
Sudy is a swipe-based dating app that only pairs rich men with attractive women, and especially caters to college students looking for financial help on tuition fees.
5. 5 Things You Should Know About China’s Luxury Market
A look at the main trends in luxury market from 2015, including an overall decline, steady growth in some verticals, more purchases in Japan, South Korea, and Europe, crossborder e-commerce taking off, as well as brands pricing their items globally instead of regionally.
6. Lyft Looks To Didi, Apple, G.M. For An Exit Lane
After Didi agreed to take over Uber China, Lyft struggled to figure out how it could survive. At the time, they were reported to be in talks with different companies to sell the company.
7. Announcing The Winner of TechCrunch Beijing 2016 Startup Competition: Ruff
Ruff, a startup focusing on building an IoT development system, took home the top prize at this year’s TechCrunch Beijing. Lack of compatibility and standardization among devices and operating environments slow down development and release of innovative IoT solutions. By using Ruff’s platform, developers do not have to double-compile or go through another kernel.
8. This Company Is Bringing Ethereum Blockchain Tech To China’s Tech Giants
China is a powerhouse when it comes to Bitcoin trading. According to a report published by Goldman Sachs last March, about 80% of Bitcoin transactions are driven by the Chinese yuan. However, awareness around Ether, another cryptocurrency, is much lower. ConsenSys wants to bring Ethereum to China’s tech and finance giants, such as Tencent, Ping An, Ant Financial, and Alibaba.
9. Xiaomi Is Expanding Their Smart Transport Empire With Bicycles
After tackling Segway-style smart transport in 2015, Xiaomi Inc. expanded further into smart hardware. Xiaomi-backed smart bicycle company IRiding released a ‘smart’ bike called the ‘QiCycle’, as part of Xiaomi’s Mijia white-label strategy. In late 2016, Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, announced they expected sales to reach 2.2 billion USD by the end of the year.
10. Is China’s Startup Incubator Bubble Set To Blow?
As more government attention is paid to innovation, more money is flowing into incubation. In April, we questioned whether or not there was a bubble in the incubation space. At the end of 2016, incubation and co-working were still going strong with no signs of stopping.
Image credits: Technode, Shutterstock