Xiaowei Wang—artist, writer and coder—has written an engrossing set of stories about the creative and ever growing use of technology in the villages and towns of China. Rural people come to life in Blockchain Chicken Farm And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside. Often with the help of tech savvy young people employed by the government Poverty Alleviation program or villagers who return after finishing urban college educations, many farmers are beginning to thrive on e-commerce and are willing to plunge into new initiatives. Wang investigates scores of ways that tech is changing rural China – from farmers installing cameras on their land to display their assets so they can apply for loans to using blockchain technology to track and guarantee quality safety for free-range chickens. The book is a great read and has opened my eyes to the subtle ways that technology is changing China, and possibly many corners of the world.
Blockchain Chicken Farm And Other Stories of Tech in China’s Countryside by Xiaowei Wang (2020) Booksellers are at: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374538668