page_title: Chunyun
section_title: "Real name and ID" requirement for train tickets
hierarchical_section_title: Chunyun / Impact on transportation systems and related problems / "Real name and ID" requirement for train tickets
caption_attribution_description: English: The ticket of Z4013, a temporary train from Beijing to Shanghai using BSP carriages. The slogan said "Buy tickets from 12306, send goods from 95306 - China Railways wish you a pleasant journey." The name and ID is blocked by a red ribbon (attached to the ticket of Chasing the Dream of Red Mansion, a concert at CNU today).
context_page_description: Chunyun, also referred to as the Spring Festival travel season or the Chunyun period, is a period of travel in China with extremely high traffic load around the time of the Chinese New Year. The travel season in China usually begins 15 days before New Year's Day and lasts for around 40 days. In 2016 it was predicted that there would be 2.9 billion passenger journeys during that year's Chunyun season. It has been called the largest annual human migration in the world. Rail transport experiences the biggest challenge during the period, and several problems have emerged. This phenomenon is also seen in parts of Asia such as Japan, Vietnam and South Korea.
context_section_description: Despite initial opposition from the Chinese Ministry of Railways, train tickets were upgraded in late 2009 to accommodate QR codes on a ticket, thus enabling personal information to be stored. This would link the ticket with its legal purchaser, paving the way for a "real name and ID" requirement to be implemented. Such a policy went into effect on a trial basis beginning early 2010 (for the duration of the Chunyun period on all non high-speed trains). In 2011, the "real name and ID" requirement expanded to more cities in China, and was made permanent for the Wuhan-Guangzhou High-Speed Railway even after the Chunyun period. The requirement became mandatory for all CRH high speed trains with effect from June 1, 2011 and was expanded to nearly all passenger trains on January 1, 2012. It is now policy for station staff and rail police to check all riders against their document of identity and to deny boarding to those without a ticket or with no linked ID.
  As a result, stations that see large passenger flow, such as the Beijing West railway station, are obliged to set up extra ticket inspection counters to allow only legal holders of train tickets to enter the waiting area or the station area at all, especially during the Spring Festival travel peak. The result has been a requirement for more passengers to arrive earlier at stations. It did not completely eradicate scalpers, but did reduce their activity significantly.
caption: A Chinese railway ticket with real name and ID (blocked in the photograph) issued in 2015
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