In 2014, the construction of Yichang into a metropolitan city began in an imposing manner and a moderate pace. How did the people living here feel like? Let’s focus on the ordinary people and record the changes in their ways of consumption.
　　Direct Flight to Taiwan to Enjoy “Oyster Omelet”
　　The first intercity bus – No.808 bus line which starts from Xingshan to Yichang was launched on June 6th, 2014; Another intercity bus line from Yichang to Yidu was officially put into use on November 8th.
　　CRH train from Chengdu to Chongqing started on July 1st, 2014, which means that it now takes only four and a half hours from Yichang to Chongqing and 7 hours from Yichang to Chengdu.
　　On September 28th, 2014, Yichang section of Baoyi Highway was officially opened to traffic. Thus, it takes only 1 hour to drive from Yichang to Yuanan and 1.5 hours to Baokang. Yiba Highway, which has been constructed for 5 years, was officially opened to traffic on December 27th. It symbolized the construction of Hurong Highway (from Shanghai to Chengdu) was completed. Thus, the trip from Yichang to Badong reduced from originally 4 hours to 2.5 hours.
　　18 urban airlines have been opened in Yichang Sanxia Airport in 2014: The first direct flight from Yichang to Taiwan-Taichung launched on May 10th and it takes only 3 hours to arrive at Taichung Airport. On July 7th, another airline from Yichang to Taiwan-Kaohsiung opened and there have been two flights to Taiwan every week since then; One more round-trip flight from Yichang to Shenzhen will be added by Shenzhen Airlines from July 19th to July 31st. There are two round-trip flights every day so that people are able to go to Shenzhen in the morning and return in the evening. More domestic and international flights to Tianjin, Nanning, Qingdao and Korea are planned to open in 2015.
　　“Live in One City and Work in Another” – New Consumption Trends
　　Chen Wen, who lives in Beishanpo in the downtown area, got on No.811 intercity bus at 6:30 a.m. One hour later, she arrived at Yidu Coach Terminal Station and went to work in a cement company in Lucheng City. It was only a dream to live in Yichang and work in Yidu two months ago, but now it has come true. The ticket price has also reduced from 21 Yuan to 15Yuan.
　　Since the first intercity bus line from Xingshan to Yichang opened and ticket price reduced from 52 Yuan to 30 Yuan, passenger flow soared from 700 per day to 1900 per day, with a maximum of over 2500 per day. It is reported that more intercity buses from Yichang to other counties are planned to open within 3 to 5 years by Yichang Transportation Group. Due to convenient transportation, people’s consumption habits are changing.
　　CRH train from Yichang to Wuhan enables Fang Ping to go to Wuhan for fun. She is looking forward to taking her son to Wuhan on weekends in 2015 where they can enjoy taking the subway, see plants in botanic garden and animals in the Sea World.
　　A Quick Trip to Sichuan and Chongqing
　　The fancy idea of getting on CRH in the morning, enjoying hot pot in Chongqing at noon and chatting in a Chengdu teahouse in the afternoon has become reality. It is more convenient for Yichang citizens to travel due to new opened CRHs and flights. Moreover, it is more simple to travel and shop abroad.
　　Yang He, a middle-aged lady had a chance to experience this wonderful convenience. She traveled on a package tour to Europe for 15 days with her family in 2014. She said: “I have been to most of the places in China in recent years, so I wanted to travel abroad. Now it is more convenient to go broad since it is easier to find a travel agency, book air tickets and get a visa.” She felt that there’s a marvelous world outside China and she wrote one of her wishes for 2015 in QQ: “Travel for several times both in and outside China.”
　　Tourism in Yichang has developed rapidly too due to convenient transportation. 4,660,900 visitors from home and abroad traveled to Yichang during the Golden Week of the National Day in 2014, increasing by 29.29% compared with the same period of last year; Total tourist income reached RMB 2.74 billion ($440,684,500), increasing by 33.27% compared with the same period of last year. The total number of tourists and the overall income have both hit the record.
　　Micropayment Becoming a “New Trend”
　　It was popular to show “Alipay bill” in Wechat in December, 2014 and many people were so surprised about their bills that they even wanted their hands chopped. Li Dan, who was born in the 1980s, spent over 60,000 Yuan ($9648) on Taobao last year, including daily goods such as rice, electric appliance such as television, and bank transfer, visa issues as well as air tickets, which occupied 85% of her total consumption in 2014.
　　Shi Guangwei, who works in No.1 Xiling Road Branch of Best Express, said that he delivered about 100 packages every day and over 200 packages when ‘Double 11(Nov. 11, ‘Singles’ Day in China) and ‘Double 12’(Dec. 12) shopping carnivals (e-commercial festival held by Alibaba) arrived.
　　When online shopping was in full swing, shopping in stores was also innovative. Last year during the ‘Double 12’ shopping carnival, Alipay cooperated with hundreds of supermarkets, restaurants and shopping malls such as supermarket of Zhongbai, Wushang and Beishan, Bestore, Laiyifen, Pizza Hut and Crown Cake etc. If one used Alipay to pay for the bill in these places, he/she would get a 50% discount and an extra red envelope.
　　Besides Alipay, “WeChat Payment” has also been very popular since 2014. Just bind E-bank card to WeChat account and you can make payments. Yang Hong, who was born in the 1960s, said that people no longer need to take their wallets when hanging out because they can use Didi (a taxi-hailing app) to get a taxi, scan QR code to pay for things that they buy, and group-buy to enjoy a meal, which was unimaginable in the past.  (Reporter: Yang Chunyan; Internship Reporter: Gao Shengnan)