With the rise in the sharing economy, more and more city dwellers have started letting out their private parking spots as demand surges. That's also created numerous smartphone apps that help people match the supply and demand.

Is it a pain to look for a place to park your car every morning when you arrive at work?

Well, the problem can now be solved through mobile phone applications that help you book a parking spot before you leave your home.

"It only took me two minutes to park my car into this spot. It feels great. If I went the old way, I usually have to go around from one floor to another looking for an empty spot, because you don't know if the car park was full or there are still some empty slots," said Pan Shaohua, car owner, Guangzhou.

The apps save time and money for people on their way to work and the owners of the parking spots benefit financially as well.

"I receive about six or seven hundred per month from renting out the parking slot. But what I value more is its social effect by sharing the place. People are no longer forced to park their cars on sidewalks," said Xie Zhihong, owner of a parking slot.

In fact, as Chinese cities get more crowded, demand for car parks soars as well.

"Even second and third tier cities have started seeing shortages in car parks. Sharing car parking slots then becomes a game changer that revitalises rarely used resources, and boosts supplies," said Li Yongxin, vice president, Guangdong Property Man't Industry Inst..  

Statistics show that in big Chinese cities every one and a quarter cars share one parking spot. In smaller cities each parking spot is shared by two cars.

In developed countries the ratio is one car to one and a third parking spots. It's estimated that Chinese cities need at least an additional 50 million parking spots.