A digitalization project in Qujing, Yunnan, has been exposed for incomplete development and eventual shutdown, raising serious questions about the efficiency of government tech investments. The initiative, which included the "City Brain" and the Qujing Tong app, has failed to gain traction despite significant financial outlay. The core issue appears to be a disconnect between project goals and practical, usable outcomes for the public.

An investigation revealed that the "Digital Qujing Operations Center" located in a local industrial park is now deserted, with its office spaces empty and no staff present. The Qujing Tong app, a key component of this project, has also disappeared from the scene. On the streets of Qujing, random interviews with citizens showed that most were unfamiliar with the app. Among the few who had used it, the consensus was that it was only useful for primary school enrollment, serving little purpose in their daily lives otherwise.

Data from the Qujing Data Bureau shows that as of the end of 2025, the Qujing Tong app had only around 60 daily active users, a stark contrast to the city's resident population of over 5.5 million. The app, launched in 2021, contained over seventy applications, but only six were self-developed. The rest were merely links to other apps, duplicating functions that already existed, particularly those found in Yunnan Province's own "One Phone for Handling Affairs" platform. That provincial app, launched in 2019, was earlier, more comprehensive, and more popular, with around 1.9 million registered users in Qujing alone.

The existence of a superior provincial platform made the local app redundant, a classic case of duplicate construction. The question then arises: why did Qujing pursue this project? The app was part of a larger "City Brain" initiative promoted by the city's former top leader. An external company was brought in to invest in and restructure a local digital economy firm, with the government planning to co-build the system through service procurement. The initial inspiration came from Hangzhou's successful "City Brain" project, but local officials failed to assess their own capabilities realistically. The deputy mayor admitted that they saw the benefits but not the gap in their own technical capacity, which led to a flawed decision-making process.

Due to a lack of in-house expertise, the local government delegated technical arguments and the project's direction to the external company. The company proposed a large, all-encompassing "City Brain" plan that included a data center, a "Digital Cockpit" display center, and two application platforms. The most visual element was a multi-meter-long "Digital Cockpit" screen, intended to display integrated data. However, the government was unclear about how the system should actually be built, and the contract's service requirements were vaguely described as "operation management, data governance, and system maintenance."

After the "City Brain" was completed, it became clear that not only was Qujing Tong unused, but the "One Network Management" platform also failed to deliver. This platform was supposed to address complex cross-departmental issues in areas like urban management and emergency response, but most functions remained at a display level. Despite the project's underperformance, the government paid the operating company an annual service fee of up to 10 million yuan, paying 9.9 million yuan each year for three years, totaling nearly 30 million yuan.

The question of how the project passed its annual acceptance checks is a significant one. The acceptance documents for each year were voluminous, with over a thousand pages. In one 2024 review, a panel of experts was formed and completed the acceptance in just 120 minutes, reviewing over 10 pages of highly technical material per minute. The experts themselves were not from the data industry; they came from diverse backgrounds such as a drug rehabilitation center, a district court, an agricultural school, and a hospital. The review process was essentially a checklist to see if the planned items were built, not if they were effectively used.

Even the new projects added each year, as required by the contract, were not put into practical use. For example, a "Data Element Operation Platform" added in 2024 has not achieved any data trading and failed to play its intended role. In 2025, a city inspection team found that the "City Brain" project risked wasting fiscal funds. Efforts to improve the project were stymied when the partner company stated the fees were insufficient for further changes. To conserve funds, the government decided to shut the project down. The company, in turn, argued that software requires constant updates and iterations to improve, which they could not sustain without payment.

From 2025, the Qujing government stopped paying operating fees and terminated the contract with the digital company. The "City Brain" project ceased operations. In March 2026, the Qujing Tong app was completely removed from all major app stores, permanently ending its services.