Beijing is planning to use facial recognition technology to ban from parks people who climb trees, snap off branches or pick flowers.
Offenders spotted by the cameras face being placed on a national blacklist that could restrict them from boarding aircraft, taking high-speed trains or visiting foreign countries.
Park officials are hoping the technology will compel “loutish travellers” to follow the rules – for instance, not smoking in certain areas and only setting up barbecues in allowed spots.
This isn’t the first time local authorities have used surveillance technologies to inspire better behaviour amongst citizens. In 2017, six face scanners were installed near the busiest toilet in the Temple of Heaven, a major tourist attraction, after reports of an increasing number of local residents stealing loo rolls from the facilities.
Visitors now need to make eye contact with a computer before the dispenser spits out a few sheets. Anyone wanting more than a single serving of toilet paper must wait an additional nine minutes.
China’s national tourism board have started blacklisting travellers “who failed to observe public order,” for instance by “disturbing the peace, climbing on statues and stealing scenic assets.”
It’s part of a wider, years-long campaign to encourage better manners while traveling, both at home and abroad. Causing a scene at airports or on an airplane can now lead to placement on a “no-fly” list.
And when Beijing hosted the 2008 Olympic Games authorities issued handbooks to residents urging them not to spit in public and reminding them to wait in line for their turn.
Beijing is planning to use facial recognition technology to ban from parks people who climb trees, snap off branches or pick flowers.
Park officials are hoping the technology will compel “loutish travellers” to follow the rules – for instance, not smoking in certain areas and only setting up barbecues in allowed spots.
Visitors now need to make eye contact with a computer before the dispenser spits out a few sheets. Anyone wanting more than a single serving of toilet paper must wait an additional nine minutes.
China’s national tourism board have started blacklisting travellers “who failed to observe public order,” for instance by “disturbing the peace, climbing on statues and stealing scenic assets.”
