The scenic coastal city of Xiamen in Fujian province is making long strides toward its goal to be a smart city after integrating high-tech systems and promoting economic development through the use of information. Among the many initiatives is the city"s use of Tencent"s popular mobile text and voice messaging service WeChat that provides residents with timely information from various departments. Its first administrative WeChat account - called the Xiamen Smart Traffic Control Center - began operation in January 2013. The first and the largest account of its kind in China, it now has more than 252,000 users. More convenient than radio, telephones and traffic LED displays for many, it offers traffic information to about one in four drivers in the city. "We use it to get route information and traffic jam reports by voice and text messages," said Yang Guoliang, a local resident. "Through it we can also check our own traffic violation status." The center also plays an important role in emergency announcements. In July its WeChat account warned 130,000 subscribers of the approach of tropical storm Cimaron.