The Spring Festival travel rush started on Friday Jan 13, 2017. It is the biggest thing for Chinese to travel in the Spring Festival. It has become the world's largest human movement every year.
During these days, billions of trips are made by travelers. The government's forecast(预测) shows the number is similar to last year's. But it is very difficult for the government to make sure the transportation goes well.
On Friday, 8.55 million trips were made on railways, 58 million by roads, 590, 000 by waterways and 1.3 million by air across the country, according to the Ministry of Transport. New services are being used during this year's travel rush to improve passengers' travel speed.
A few major train stations, such as Guangzhou and Changsha, are using face recognition (面貌识别) technology for the first time. The technology can save passengers' travel time. It is also convenient for train station staff members who check train tickets and ID cards.
The technology compares passenger's face with the photo on ID card. Now, passengers at those stations only need to stand in front of a camera for a few seconds after putting their ID card at a checkpoint(检查站). Many passengers experienced the technology at Guangzhou South Railway Station. They described the technology as “convenient, fast and wonderful”.
