Hong Kong residents now take no more than one minute to pass through the Luohu checkpoint in south China's Shenzhen City adjacent to Hong Kong, after the checkpoint started to use the Passenger Automation Inspection System on June 17.

The system, which was designed by the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, can automatically confirm passengers' identities, because it has a database with passengers' fingerprints, images and basic personal information.

Passengers passing through the system for the first time will give fingerprints, pictures and personal information. Subsequently, they will only need to leave a finger mark and test ID card to exit or enter the checkpoint. The system is convenient particularly for those passengers with frequent entry and exit.

On 10:40 a.m. Thursday, Hong Kong resident Chen Xiaoping became the first passenger to pass through the automated inspection system at the Luohu checkpoint.

"The system is very convenient. Hopefully more exit and entry channels will adopt the automation inspection system," she said.

The system will greatly expedite the flow of passengers at checkpoints, according to the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection. The system is applicable to Hong Kong and Macao residents above 18 years of age who have home visit permits and volunteer for image and fingerprint collection.

Zheng Daming, a Hong Kong resident who often passes through the Luohu checkpoint, said in the past, major holidays always saw very long queues lining up in the Luohu checkpoints. He believed the situation will change after the system is widely adopted.

Shi Jian, director of the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection said more than 400,000 passengers pass through the Luohu checkpoints every day, with the number soaring to 590,000 at peak time. The new system is expected to save human resources and enlarge passenger flow.

He said since May 15, the Luohu checkpoint has started to collect passenger's information for the use of the Passenger Automation Inspection System. Currently, tens of thousands of passengers have voluntarily offered their personal information.

From July 1, the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection will set up information collection stations at other checkpoints in Shenzhen city to make way for the expansion of the use of the Passenger Automation Inspection System.

In 2004, more than 150 million passengers and 14.399 million vehicles passed through the city's inspection stations, respectively accounting for 54.6 percent and 77.3 percent of the country's total.

Source: Xinhua