外媒看春节：支付宝和微信红包大战_BEC初级作文

外媒看春节：支付宝和微信红包大战

The Chinese tradition of giving gifts of money in red envelopes at Lunar New Year has turned into big business for Web giants Alibaba and Tencent, which now both offer electronic "hong bao".

新年送礼给红包是中国春节的传统习俗，而今年“红包”已经演变成互联网巨头阿里巴巴和腾讯的网络红包大战。

At the end of each lunar year, it is customary in China to give children hong bao -- small sums of money in envelopes that are red, the colour of prosperity. But now the age-old practice is going high-tech.

每年农历年年尾，中国人要给晚辈发红包——红纸包里装的钱不多，表达最孩子们的祝福。不过老习俗到了今天也走向了高科技。

It is now possible to exchange "red envelopes" via smartphone, which is proving a popular trend in China and has sparked a battle for the lucrative market between the two companies providing the service, Tencent and Alibaba.

现在只要通过智能手机就能交换红包，这么方便的功能让整个中国都陷入了抢红包发红包的热潮，这场红包大战可以看成是两家中国互联网巨头腾讯和阿里巴巴之间的一场用户争夺战。

"You don't have to pay the same fees or wait as long as you would for a traditional bank transfer. It's more convenient, simple and fun," Wang Le, a 28-year-old Beijing resident, told AFP.