Beijingers snapped up the most WeChat hongbao this CNY

We're claiming the title of fastest fingers in the country

This past Chinese New Year's Eve, more than 688 million WeChat users took part in sending and receiving hongbao. The virtual red packets – a digital version of the Chinese tradition of doling out money in red envelopes – can be sent directly in a private chat or distributed in a group chat where each recipient is assigned either a random or fixed amount (provided you're fast enough).

Source: WeChat.

It's the group red packet function where Beijingers have reportedly excelled, topping the list as the 'most-skilled' city in the country by snapping up hongbao the fastest and in the greatest quantity. According to a report published by WeChat developer Tencent, WeChat users born in the '80s also made up the largest proportion of total users (32 percent) sending and receiving red packets, with users born during the '90s and '70s trailing behind with 27 percent and 22 percent respectively.

Other cool facts include the fastest individual user in the country (a woman in eastern Shandong who scooped up a whopping 1,848 red packets) and the most generous user (1,203 hongbao sent out by a woman in southern Zhejiang).

So while this data proves that Beijingers most likely spent their New Year's Eve glued to their phones trying to scoop up that sweet hongbao loot, we're at least all the richer for it (which is what really matters).

Want some red packets of your own? Hit 'Read more' for our Hongbao Competition.

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