A sleep-sharing capsule was shun down in Beijing, July 17, 2017. [Photo/chinanews.com] Sleep-sharing capsules in Zhongguancun, a tech hub in Beijing has been shut down, as its validity has been questioned, Beijing Morning Post reported. Sleep-sharing capsules have popped up in Beijing and Shanghai recently, drawing immediate public attention. Primarily targeted at white-collar workers, the capsules have been mostly set up in office buildings. To use the capsule, people simply scan a QR code on the outside of each capsule and pay 6 yuan (90 cents) per 30 minutes during off-peak times or 10 yuan ($ 1.47) per half-hour in peak times. But the capsules are now closed with employees telling customers that the capsules need to be upgraded. Dai Jiangong, who runs Beijing Xiangshui Technology Corporation that makes the sleeping-sharing capsules, said: We started to pilot the program from the end of May. We have not received any seal up notice or rectification proposals from relevant departments. It is the company that decides to temporarily close the capsules to communicate with authorities for long-term development considerations. He stressed that the company has not officially launched the capsules but was testing them out and gathering users' feedback in Beijing. The sleeping capsule is not a hotel room or rental bed. It's designed to provide a comfortable space during noon break for white-collar workers in office buildings. So we are just open during work shift and closed at nights. he said. According to Dai, the company will officially launch the sleep-sharing capsules after obtaining approval from relevant departments. Zhu Wei, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law and an expert member of the sharing economy committee of the Internet Society of China said the sleep-sharing capsules are not technically a part of the sharing economy, but a time-share lease. Real sharing means the users rent out their own free rooms while sleeping-sharing capsule is not of this kind, he said. Zhu Wei stressed that operating hotels requires the approval of departments of industry and commerce, health and fire control, none of which the sleeping-sharing capsule has. He said there may be hidden security problems. There may be problems with prostitution, drug abusing, infectious diseases and so on, he said. In a hotel, the house keeper would clean up and disinfect the entire space when guests leave, but the sleep-sharing capsule dose not provide a cleaner each time. Zhu Wei believes that the sleep-sharing capsule needs to get relevant qualifications to ensure users' health and safety. design your own wristband ukblack wristbandsfabric wristbands ukthe wristband factoryrubber braceletswrist band coupon codesilicone bracelets custom cheapsilicone wristbandsmake your own rubber braceletcheap silicone wristbands ukpersonalized silicone braceletswristband makervinyl wristbandsjordan wristbandmake your own rubber band bracelets
Pediatrician Yang Yang checks a child at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center in Guangdong province in January. ZHANG ZIWANG/FOR CHINA DAILY Fees for medical treatments and examinations of children 6 and younger were raised by 30 percent in Guangzhou recently as a way to keep the city's pediatricians from quitting their jobs. According to a notice issued by four city government departments at the end of April, the higher fees cover 408 kinds of treatments and examinations for children. The increase in fees for children aims to overcome the difficulty in seeing pediatricians and to encourage more medical students to become pediatricians, the notice said. The price increase is also expected to encourage State-run hospitals to provide even better medical services to children. An ordinary diagnostic fee for a child was increased from 10 yuan to 13 yuan ($1.60 to $2.05). A tonsillectomy rose from 520 yuan to 676 yuan. Gong Sitang, deputy president of the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, said the policy is people-oriented, as it allows pediatricians to feel respected. Pediatricians usually have to be more careful and face heavy pressure in seeing child patients because some of the children are too young to speak or can't clearly describe their symptoms, Gong said. Also, most of them are their parents' only child and usually the apple of their parents' eye. Gong said the price hike will not increase the burden of patients or parents who enjoy medical insurance or who are covered by the country's healthcare system. Most of the children's medical expense are actually paid by the government and insurance companies, he said. Fang Zhuohong, a Guangzhou office worker, said she hoped the higher fees would make it easier to see pediatricians. Many parents have to spend at least half a day to bring their children to see a doctor in Guangzhou, she said. Many people won't be able to see senior doctors or specialists if they don't make appointments in advance. But not all people applauded the move. The price hike will increase the burden for myriad migrant workers who come from outside the city, said one Guangzhou resident, who refused to give his name. Many of them don't have local medical insurance and have not yet been included in the healthcare system. A shortage of pediatricians has seen some city hospitals close their pediatrics departments in recent years. A pediatrician at a major general hospital, who did not want to be named, said many pediatricians in his hospital have to work overtime. Some pediatricians have to see as many as 200 patients a day, about three times the number seen by an ordinary doctor, he said.
