Power-nap capsules helping Chinese white-collar workers

By Tevfik Durul

BEIJING (AA) - Life in titanic Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai can be exhausting for their huge armies of commuters.

Special sleep capsules, which people can rent to get some badly-needed shuteye, have sprang up in recent months, proving especially popular among white-collar workers.

Now, sleepy staff can pay for their 40 winks by using their cellphones.

WeChat, China's most-used messaging app -- with around 800 million users -- can now be used to unlock each self-service capsule for half an hour during off-peak times for a fee of six yuan (about $0.88).

This cheap method allows workers to have a nap in the futuristic capsules which include a blanket, sheets, ear plugs and are also equipped with USB points and power sockets.

However, the price of a 30-minute nap in the capsules can go up to 10 yuan (around $1.5) between 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. because workers usually prefer quick naps during the mid-day rush.

One of the focal points for this soothing service is Xiangshui Space in Beijing, also known as China's 'Silicon Valley'.

Guang Tienlang, an operating officer at a capsule site in Xiangshui Space, told Anadolu Agency it would be hard to find an empty capsule between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

"People who are working in the technology sector are mostly interested in nap capsules.

“Some people, who are working far away from their home, sometimes prefer to stay the night in the capsules as well," Guang said.

The capsule sites, about 100 of which have sprung up in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu over the last three months, are expected to expand to more and more cities.

However, recent media reports suggest a number of capsule centers have been closed down by the local authorities citing licensing issues.