Interview with Meng Chao on Front‑end Cross‑Platform Technologies and Performance Optimization at GMTC

Speaker Introduction: Meng Chao, head of the Public Product Department’s front‑end team at Qunar, joined the company in November 2014 and has worked on hybrid development frameworks, QRN (React Native‑based), hot‑update systems, client monitoring, and performance optimization.

GMTC Overview: GMTC (Global Mobile Tech Conference) is a four‑day event organized by InfoQ China, covering front‑end, mobile, and AI technologies. It aims to promote global technical exchange and help participants understand trends and best practices in the large‑front‑end and mobile development fields.

Perspectives on GMTC: Meng considers GMTC one of the highest‑level front‑end conferences in China. He highlights the conference’s role in showcasing cutting‑edge technologies, fostering community learning, and guiding the direction of front‑end development for the coming year.

Evolution of the Conference: Originally the “Global Mobile Tech Conference” (focused on React, React Native, Weex, Vue, PWA, Angular2), GMTC has evolved to include mini‑programs and Flutter, reflecting rapid changes in front‑end technology.

Qunar’s Front‑end Achievements: Since 2015, Qunar shifted from native‑only development to a hybrid‑centric approach, deploying hundreds of hybrid projects and achieving over 80% coverage with the Hy platform. The team built a hot‑update system for flexible releases and introduced the QRN framework, which offers superior performance and easier adoption compared to traditional hybrid solutions.

Monitoring and Performance Optimization: Qunar implemented a no‑instrumentation monitoring solution in 2016, focusing on network request monitoring, page performance, and QRN key metrics. An APM platform was created to provide data for diagnosing and improving performance, leading to noticeable gains in app startup time and first‑screen rendering.

Conference Presentation: At the current GMTC, Meng presented “Qunar Client No‑Instrumentation Monitoring and Performance Optimization Practices,” covering the client’s current state, the monitoring system architecture, and practical cases of page‑first‑screen and network performance optimizations.

Future Opportunities and Challenges: Early adoption of cross‑platform technologies like React Native positions Qunar to reduce development costs. While Flutter shows promise, the team remains cautious about adopting immature technologies and emphasizes continuous monitoring of industry trends to make informed decisions.

Takeaways for Developers: Meng encourages developers to broaden their horizons, contribute to the community through blogs and open‑source projects, and apply learned best practices to improve both personal and organizational value.