Zheping Huang wrote about the peculiar role that Uber has gone onto play in China:

• Due to the one-child policy, few middle-aged middle-class people have individuals like cousins or siblings their own age to spend time with.
• In China one is also less likely to see random conversations being struck up at places like bars.
• Some have taken to driving for Uber. It gives them short bursts of conversation with varied strangers.
• Often these people make far more from their standard day jobs, than they do driving for Uber.
• If they’re interested in finding someone to play tennis with, they may try to pick up passengers around tennis courts and form weekend plans with them.
• At times Uber itself becomes the subject of socialization – some Uber drivers looking for social contact have come together to form communities.
• For others Uber is about business opportunities. One driver who sells electronics parks in front of the aerospace academy and picks up passengers from there in an effort to keep up with industry trends.
• And yet others just like the thrill of exploring massive cities like Beijing through people’s lives.

Read more about why Uber, rather than some of its more successful Chinese competitors, is the app of choice for those looking for socialization, and interviews with Chinese Uber drivers here.

Source: Quartz