Short wait

Busy Chinese restaurants are using smartphone apps to cut down on long lines, making customers happy, Chen Nan reports. Chen Nan

It's around lunchtime. Office workers in the Wangjing area, one of Beijing's fast-growing business districts, have to wait patiently to fill their stomachs at crowded restaurants nearby.

But Zhao Ying, a white-collar clerk, is in no hurry to rush out. She uses her smartphone to place her order: dumplings and a bowl of congee. After paying via WeChat, a popular Chinese smartphone application, she heads to Green Bites, the restaurant she's just ordered from.