Need cold medicine at midnight?

It was 1:30 AM in Chengdu. My throat felt like sandpaper. I had a flight the next morning and zero energy to go out looking for a pharmacy.

Back home, I would have just suffered through the night. Nothing open at that hour. But my friend said: “Just open Ele.me. It’s like Uber Eats, but for everything.”

I downloaded the app, typed “cold medicine”, and found a 24‑hour pharmacy three blocks away. The price: 28 yuan. Delivery fee: zero. Estimated arrival: 20 minutes.

I almost laughed. At 2 AM on a Tuesday, someone was going to bring me medicine on a scooter.

Twenty‑one minutes later, the doorbell rang. A delivery guy handed me a small bag, nodded, and disappeared into the night. I took the medicine, drank some warm water, and fell asleep before 2:30.

The next morning, I woke up feeling human again. I thought about the delivery guy, riding through the empty streets so I could make my flight. In my country, that would have cost me a fortune or just been impossible.

China isn’t just fast. It’s thoughtful, even at 2 AM.

Video: Medicine delivered in 18 minutes in China.

✦ Ready to explore China?